As part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (“RFO”), the FAR Council issued a proposed rule that would implement — with some notable changes — the Council’s model deviation for FAR Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. 

A number of those proposed changes to the deviation version have the potential to materially impact how procurements are run and bid protests are pursued.

In this series, we examine the proposed changes to Part 15 one at a time.  Now up:  Discussions vs. negotiations vs. clarifications.

Caveat:  There is a lot to unpack in the proposed rule’s revisions to exchanges with offerors.  For purposes of this installment, we focus on the line-drawing questions around clarifications vs. negotiations.

Continue Reading What’s New About Proposed FAR Part 15?Episode 2:  New Line-Drawing Questions for Clarifications vs. Negotiations

As part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (“RFO”), the FAR Council issued a proposed rule that would implement — with some notable changes — the Council’s model deviation for FAR Part 15, Contracting by Negotiation. 

A number of those proposed changes to the deviation version have the potential to materially impact how procurements are run and bid protests are pursued.

In this new series, we will examine the proposed changes to Part 15 one at a time.  First up is the late-is-late rule.

Continue Reading What’s New About Proposed FAR Part 15?Episode 1:  More “Leeway” for Late Proposals

As governments increasingly focus on cloud security and sovereignty, the European Commission (“EC”) is, through its proposal for a Cloud and AI Development Act (“CADA Proposal”), attempting to create a regime establishing “sovereignty” requirements on cloud computing service providers that can be procured by the public sector.  In our prior blog post, we discussed the proposed regime in greater detail.  This proposed regime shares some characteristics with U.S. regimes for government contractors.  However, while similarities exist, there are also meaningful differences.  Existing and potential government contractors providing cloud services and operating in both the United States and European Union (“EU”) may be interested in understanding how existing U.S. requirements compare to the CADA Proposal — which requirements carry across regimes and which requirements are net new.

In this blog post, we provide a brief overview of (1) the CADA Proposal and certain existing U.S. frameworks, namely (2) the U.S. foreign ownership, control, or influence (“FOCI”) regime and (3) the U.S. Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (“FedRAMP”).  The overview is followed by a high-level comparison of these frameworks.

The comparison below focuses on the scope of the respective frameworks and their treatment of provider location, data residency, foreign-government access, and the potential for foreign control to affect service continuity.  This discussion focuses principally on the FedRAMP Rev. 5 framework.

Continue Reading A Comparison of the EU Cloud and AI Development Act Requirements Against the U.S. FOCI Regime and FedRAMP

On September 28, 2026, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced the final version of a new class deviation, titled “Basic Safeguarding of Data within Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence Systems,” that applies compliance requirements to contracts involving the use of large language models (LLMs).  The new clause went into effect…

Continue Reading GSAR Class Deviation on Safeguarding Government Data in Large Language Models Takes Effect

On October 5, 2026, the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service previewed its plan to issue Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Refresh 34 in November 2026.  The announcement of Refresh 34 comes just days after the release of Refresh 33, which had previously been delayed to ensure appropriate integration…

Continue Reading GSA Previews Significant Changes Planned for Upcoming Multiple Award Schedule Refresh 

In Viderity Inc. – Costs, GAO found an agency’s investigation into a potential conflict of interest to be unreasonable where the agency “failed to inquire with” the awardee-intervenor “as to whether the firm had a business relationship with” an agency evaluator.  The decision was issued on September 1, 2026.  …

Continue Reading GAO Finds Conflict Investigation Unreasonable Where Agency Failed to Ask Awardee About Business Relationship

On September 16, 2026, President Trump issued a Presidential Memorandum (the “Memorandum”) titled “Restoring Reciprocity in Government Procurement,” which aims to remove Canadian origin items from the U.S. government procurement system.  The Memorandum provides few details on how this policy goal should be effectuated, but directs the following actions:

  • The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) Director and U.S. Trade Representative, in coordination with the FAR Council, and in consultation with other senior officials as appropriate, shall “to the extent appropriate and consistent with law, identify and take all steps permitted by applicable law with respect to Canadian origin items in the Federal civil procurement system that can, where warranted, be removed or made non-available for purchase.”
  • The OMB Director, in consultation with other senior officials as appropriate, shall also “notify” relevant executive departments and agencies of domestic alternatives to Canadian origin items, “to the extent permitted by law.”
Continue Reading Presidential Memorandum Tasks Agencies with Removing Canadian Origin Items from Federal Procurement System

The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has extended the comment periods for its proposed overhaul of small business size standards and its accompanying Revised Size Standards Methodology by 60 days, from September 21 to November 20, 2026.

As we discussed in our prior post, SBA’s proposed rule would…

Continue Reading SBA Extends Comment Period on Proposed Small Business Size Standards to November 20

Several months into the Department of War’s (DoW) suspension of the next phase of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Program, contractors are continuing to navigate uncertainty relating to the program.  With the Department’s review underway, this post takes stock of where the program stands, what remains in effect, and what contractors should be considering.

Continue Reading CMMC Reform Task Force Updates September 2026

On September 14, 2026, Deputy Secretary of War Stephen Feinberg issued a memorandum and an accompanying appendix focused on strengthening the defense industrial base by reforming acquisition requirements related to a wide range of issues, including accounting standards, efficiency, government oversight, procedural requirements, audits, pricing, and more.  Building on prior policymaking, including Executive Order 14402 (April 30, 2026), this memorandum directs agency actions aimed at making defense acquisition more commercially oriented and less dependent on government-unique accounting and oversight regimes. 

Among other things, the memorandum directs the Department of War (“DoW”) to shift away from the Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) and increase its reliance on the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), including by advancing CAS coverage reform at the CAS Board.  The memorandum further directs a number of other reforms related to accelerating acquisition transformation, scaling advance market commitments, improving efficiency, reducing administrative burden, limiting audits, streamlining business system reviews, and increasing the use of commercial contracting and other transaction authority (“OTA”) agreements. 

Continue Reading Department of War Issues Memorandum Aimed at Strengthening the Industrial Base Through Acquisition Reform