Executive Orders

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Another day, another executive order (EO) that will transform federal procurement as we know it. A March 20, 2025 EO entitled “Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement” and its accompanying fact sheet call for “[c]onsolidating domestic Federal procurement in the General Services Administration” (GSA), at least with regard to “common goods and services.” Continue Reading Executive Order Aims to Consolidate Procurement of Broadly Defined ‘Common Goods and Services’, All IT GWACs, under GSA

Well, it is certainly an interesting time to be a federal government contractor. In the last few weeks, we have seen Executive Orders (EOs) flying fast and furious, and a lot of other activity impacting federal government contractors. Overall, these various new developments have resulted in a flurry of contract modifications, suspensions, and terminations for…

As much we all love Rihanna, it’s a real shame how many contractors have called me in the last few days with issues that remind me of her well-known “Pay Me What You Owe Me” lyrics. They’re brought to mind because contractors are – on an increasing basis – being denied payment on properly invoiced sums. In some cases, contractors have even been expressly advised by agency officials that they will not be paid at all for the foreseeable future. “Don’t submit any future invoices until you hear from us” is becoming a shockingly common refrain. And yet, the work being invoiced was properly performed. There is no allegation of delayed or deficient performance. Indeed, the amounts due are undisputedly owing to the contractor. So what is going on?!?Continue Reading Pay Me What You Owe Me, Don’t Act Like You Forgot!

On February 26, 2025, the White House issued another Executive Order (EO) that will have major implications for Federal government contractors across numerous industries and agencies. The new EO, entitled Implementing the President’s “Department of Government Efficiency” Cost Efficiency Initiative, requires every agency to work with that agency’s DOGE Team Lead (i.e., the leader of the DOGE Team at each agency, as defined in Executive Order 14158) to, among other things, conduct a review of covered contracts and grants, set up guidance for new contracts aimed at promoting efficiency and the Trump administration’s priorities, and build a system to track and justify payments made to contractors. What does that mean for you? Consider the below.Continue Reading New EO Demands Agencies Conduct Review of All Covered Contracts and Grants, Terminate or Modify To Reduce Spending, and Set Up System To Track and Justify All Future Payments

Amid a flurry of executive orders starting his second administration, President Donald Trump issued an order entitled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity” (the “Order”) on January 21, 2025. The Order will have an immediate impact on federal contractors and subcontractors currently subject to the affirmative action obligations concerning women and minorities under now-revoked Executive Order 11246 dated September 24, 1965 (and the subsequent executive orders that refined these obligations). It also signals a significant change in the focus of federal enforcement of equal opportunity laws. The Order does NOT, however, change any of the substantive federal law regarding employment discrimination. Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, it remains illegal for employers to make employment decisions on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Other federal and state statutes prohibit making employment decisions on various other bases, including age, disability, genetic make-up, etc.; none of these substantive laws have been changed. So what has changed?Continue Reading DEI, Discrimination, Affirmative Action and More: How the Recent Executive Order Impacts Private Employers

What do you think is going to be scarier—artificial intelligence (AI) or the government’s effort to regulate AI? On October 30, 2023, the White House issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14410, Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence. As the federal government’s latest foray into harnessing AI, this E.O.—like those before it, generally—recognizes that AI offers extraordinary potential and promise, provided that it is harnessed responsibly to prevent the exacerbation of societal harms. Since E.O. 14410, there has been a flurry of activity in the federal government, including guidance and policies providing an indication of how agencies can/should/will harness AI to support agency objectives. While we are far from a situation similar to Skynet from the Terminator franchise or HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey, the government’s accelerated activity to reap AI’s potential benefits far outpaces the provision of actionable guidance so contractors can understand and adapt to what will be required in offering AI products and services to the government. So let’s open the pod bay doors and explore…Continue Reading Executive Order 14410: An Artificial Intelligence Odyssey

In 2006, the documentary An Inconvenient Truth chronicled former Vice President Al Gore’s efforts to educate the public on the consequences of climate change. In the sixteen years since the Academy Award-winning film was released, public interest in the impact that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions have had, are having, and will have on our planet has increased exponentially. Most recently, at the 27th U.N. Climate Conference (COP27), countries from around the globe came together to discuss the implementation of battle plans to combat climate change. One such plan, which was discussed at COP 27 by President Biden, is a new Proposed Rule that would require “significant” and “major” federal contractors to disclose their GHG emissions and climate-related financial risk as well as set science-based targets to reduce their GHG emissions. If and when the Proposed Rule is finalized, it will have seismic implications for contractors, in that it ties contractor responsibility (i.e., a contractor’s ability to receive federal awards) to compliance with these requirements.
Continue Reading An Inconvenient Requirement: New Proposed Rule Would Require Federal Contractors to Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emissions

For just shy of a decade, the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) has had to operate under rules dictating the safeguarding of Controlled Unclassified Information, along with a strict 72-hour notification requirement if/when/should a “cyber incident” occur. For the uninitiated, these are the requirements found in the Department of Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 252.204-7012. And for a large swath of government contractors, these requirements have been more bane than benefit, as many have struggled to meet the DFARS’ stringent requirements.

Well, critical infrastructure industry, welcome to the party! Soon, companies involved in all sectors of critical infrastructure will need to comply with new federal reporting requirements for cybersecurity incidents and ransom payments after President Joe Biden signed The Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 (the Act) into law on March 15, 2022. Tied to an omnibus appropriations package, the Act requires entities involved in critical infrastructure to report cyber incidents to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) within 72 hours and any paid ransom demands within 24 hours. While these new reporting obligations will not become effective until CISA promulgates rules to further define requirements, as the DIB’s effort has demonstrated, it would be wise to examine best practices in incident response plans to begin sooner rather than later.Continue Reading Critical Infrastructure Industry Drafted: Welcome to the Cyber War

Regardless of whether they were eagerly anticipated or begrudgingly unavoidable, the changes promised to the Buy American Act (BAA) early last year have at last arrived, or at least are quickly approaching. On March 4, 2022, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Council released its long-anticipated Final Rule implementing important revisions to the BAA provisions of the FAR and incorporating the requirements outlined in President Biden’s January 28, 2021 executive order, “Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers.” Although the Final Rule, for the most part, conforms with the Proposed Rule issued in July 2021 (which we previously discussed here), the most notable aspect may be that the Final Rule’s effective date was delayed until October 25, 2022. This generous gap provides contractors with roughly 235 days to fortify their compliance efforts and ensure that necessary policies and procedures are in place to meet the necessary supply chain and regulatory changes imposed by the Final Rule — well  in advance of Halloween.
Continue Reading With Just a Little Ado: Significant Buy American Changes Are Coming Before Halloween

With Spring Training just a few weeks away it looks like the Biden Administration is stepping up to the plate to ensure the plans in its $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act can avoid strikes. On February 4, 2022, President Biden signed the Executive Order on the Use of Project Labor Agreements for Federal Construction Projects (the Executive Order), which requires the federal government, in an effort to avoid potential labor disputes and delays in any “large-scale construction contract” (a project valued at over $35 million), to use project labor agreements before awarding a contract. The Executive Order is effective immediately, and construction contractors should begin seeing it applied in future and maybe even pending solicitations or orders. How, exactly, the Executive Order will appear in immediate solicitations is unclear, but the FAR Council is tasked with implementing the Executive Order within 120 days before promptly issuing a final rule. Before that happens, let’s tap the mud off the cleats and make sure you’re ready to play ball.
Continue Reading PLAy Ball! Executive Order Directs Project Labor Agreements for Construction Projects Over $35 Million