On February 17, 2026, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, proposing amendments to the FAR to implement Section 5949 of the FY23 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”). Section 5949 prohibits executive agencies from obtaining semiconductor parts, products, or services traceable to certain named Chinese companies – currently, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (“SMIC”), ChangXin Memory Technologies (“CXMT”), and Yangtze Memory Technologies Corp (“YMTC”) – subject to limited exceptions. In accordance with the statute, the proposed amendments to the FAR would become effective on December 23, 2027. The proposed rule is not yet final and is open for public comment until April 20, 2026. Continue Reading FAR Council Issues Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Implement Prohibition on Acquisition of Certain Semiconductors
FY26 NDAA Aims to Raise the Dollar Thresholds for the Applicability of CAS and TINA
Among the most challenging areas of regulatory compliance for federal contractors are cost accounting and cost and pricing data disclosure requirements. Indeed, many companies place guardrails on the nature and scale of their business relationships with the U.S. government precisely to avoid the application of these requirements. In a move that seems consistent with the federal government’s push towards expanding the defense industrial base and working with more commercial companies, Congress recently released the final negotiated language of the FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”). The draft text, currently awaiting a full Senate vote, contains impactful changes to reduce the applicability of federal Cost Accounting Standards (“CAS”) and the Truthful Cost or Pricing Data Statute (formerly the Truth in Negotiations Act, commonly referred to as “TINA”). Continue Reading FY26 NDAA Aims to Raise the Dollar Thresholds for the Applicability of CAS and TINA
BIOSECURE Act Moves Closer to Enactment with Inclusion in FY 2026 NDAA Text
After failing to be included in the Fiscal Year (“FY”) 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) or passed as a standalone piece of legislation, the BIOSECURE Act has moved closer to finally being enacted after it was included in the final FY 2026 NDAA text released by Congress on December 7, 2025. Section 851 of the FY 2026 NDAA is titled “Prohibition on Contracting with Certain Biotechnology Providers,” but includes in substance what was previously introduced and considered in Congress as the BIOSECURE Act.
The bill has the potential to impose significant restrictions on the use of certain Chinese companies in the supply chain for products procured by the U.S. Government and accordingly has been of interest to industry over the last few years. This blog post summarizes the scope of the bill, highlights the changes in the FY 2026 NDAA text as compared to prior iterations of the bill, and flags key considerations for government contractors in the life sciences space.Continue Reading BIOSECURE Act Moves Closer to Enactment with Inclusion in FY 2026 NDAA Text
From DAS to WAS: Secretary Hegseth’s Acquisition Overhaul and What It Means for Industry
On November 7, 2025, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth used a speech at the National War College to unveil a Department of War (“DoW”) memorandum titled “Transforming the Defense Acquisition System into the Warfighting Acquisition System to Accelerate Fielding of Urgently Needed Capabilities to Our Warriors.” This memorandum, referred to throughout as the “WAS Memo”—formally redesignates the Defense Acquisition System (“DAS”) as the Warfighting Acquisition System (“WAS”), places the acquisition enterprise on a “wartime footing,” and sets forth the governance, structural, and process reforms that will shape how DoW capabilities are acquired and fielded.
This post is the second in a three-part series analyzing these reforms. In our first post, we examined the WAS Memo’s new emphasis on commercial products and offerings as the preferred acquisition approach. This post turns to the broader restructuring initiatives contained in the WAS Memo and its accompanying Acquisition Transformation Strategy.Continue Reading From DAS to WAS: Secretary Hegseth’s Acquisition Overhaul and What It Means for Industry
Expired: SBIR/STTR and DPA Authorities in Limbo
Two cornerstone authorities for federal contracting quietly expired on September 30, 2025, creating ripple effects that contractors—small and large—cannot afford to overlook. The Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (“SBIR/STTR”) programs, commonly known as “America’s Seed Fund” for their role in fueling early-stage innovation, and the Defense Production Act
Continue Reading Expired: SBIR/STTR and DPA Authorities in LimboForging a Modern Strategic Production Base: Senate Proposes Stand-Alone Defense-Production Powers for the Pentagon
The Defense Production Act (DPA) has long been viewed as the primary federal mechanism for managing and supporting defense production. Since it was enacted in September 1950—just months after the Korean War began—the DPA has armed the President with wartime-style powers to prioritize contracts, allocate scarce materials, and finance surge defense production capacity. These DPA industrial authorities are subject to periodic reauthorization, with the current sunset set for September 30, 2025. While the reauthorization of the DPA remains pending, the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) has advanced a new NDAA provision that would convert the extant Industrial Base Fund (IBF) (10 U.S.C. section 4817) into a Pentagon-controlled toolkit that closely mirrors—but is not identical to—DPA’s Title III authorities. The introduction of section 849A of the FY 2026 NDAA suggests that the SASC is no longer willing to entrust the re-armament of the Pentagon and revitalization of the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) solely to reauthorization of the DPA—a process that lives or dies in other committees’ jurisdictions. Continue Reading Forging a Modern Strategic Production Base: Senate Proposes Stand-Alone Defense-Production Powers for the Pentagon
FY2025 NDAA: Congressional Efforts to Bolster U.S. Resilience Against Chinese Tech and Influence
The FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) sustains Congress’s continued focus on countering China’s expanding influence and enhancing U.S. resilience in an era of great power competition. This year’s legislation reflects the practice of carrying the State Department and Intelligence Authorization Acts within the NDAA—marking the third consecutive year that these critical measures have been advanced in tandem. The Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees in both chambers of Congress have increasingly adopted the Armed Services Committees’ playbook, embedding China-focused legislation modeled on past defense measures in their respective authorizations. This blog examines key provisions designed to address what Congress views as strategic challenges posed by China while closing loopholes that could confer military, economic, or technological advantages to Beijing. We divide these provisions into the following five categories: (1) provisions that address potential security risks linked to Chinese-origin technology; (2) provisions that limit the transfer of U.S. technology or data to China; (3) so-called “time to choose” provisions that curtail Department of Defense (“DoD”) engagement with third parties that engage with China; (4) provisions that tackle a range of broader geopolitical concerns; and (5) studies and reports to identify emerging issues and concerns.
Continue Reading FY2025 NDAA: Congressional Efforts to Bolster U.S. Resilience Against Chinese Tech and Influence
Congress Attempts to Revitalize the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act
Since 1986, the little brother to the civil False Claims Act, known as the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986 (“PFCRA”), has seen very little use. Section 5203 of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) seeks to breathe new life into the law by renaming it
Continue Reading Congress Attempts to Revitalize the Program Fraud Civil Remedies ActPresident Biden signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025
This is the first blog in a series covering the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (“FY 2025 NDAA”). This first blog will cover: (1) NDAA sections affecting acquisition policy and contract administration that may be of greatest interest to government contractors; (2) initiatives that underscore Congress’s commitment to strengthening cybersecurity, both domestically and internationally; and (3) NDAA provisions that aim to accelerate the Department of Defense’s adoption of AI and Autonomous Systems and counter efforts by U.S. adversaries to subvert them.
Continue Reading President Biden signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2025
November 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order and National Cybersecurity Strategy
This is part of a series of Covington blogs on the implementation of Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” issued by President Biden on May 12, 2021 (the “Cyber EO”). The first blog summarized the Cyber EO’s key provisions and timelines, and the subsequent blogs described the actions taken
Continue Reading November 2024 Developments Under President Biden’s Cybersecurity Executive Order and National Cybersecurity Strategy