Executive Orders

Subscribe to Executive Orders

Continue Reading What’s Next for Federal Contractors and Mandatory COVID-19 Safety Protocols

A major pillar of President Biden’s campaign was strengthening the Buy American requirements in procurement law, promising both before and after the election that “[n]o government contracts will be given to companies that don’t make their products here in America.” Five days into office, the President issued an Executive Order designed to bring that promise closer to fruition. As we wrote here, the January 25, 2021 Executive Order directed both dramatic changes to domestic preference regulations and increased enforcement of existing requirements through a variety of means. Now, seven months later, amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) are being proposed by the Department of Defense (DoD), General Services Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration—collectively, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council—to implement, at least in part, President Biden’s Executive Order (Proposed Rule).
…
Continue Reading Enhanced Buy American Requirements Coming Soon; Proposed Rule Foretells Big Changes

After 15 months of quarantines, restrictions, and mandatory home schooling, summer 2021 is luring with escape and excitement across the country.  We all hope for beach days and reunions with loved ones as we (hopefully) paddle toward normalcy once again. However, before setting up the “out-of-office” auto-replies and heading for the sand and surf, Government contractors interested in the implications of the Biden Administration’s January 25, 2021 Executive Order on Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers (EO) will want to take note of a June 11, 2021 Memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget on Increasing Opportunities for Domestic Sourcing and Reducing the Need for Waivers from Made in America Laws (Memorandum). This Memorandum outlines the wave of changes the Made In America Office (MIAO) is poised to make over the summer of 2021 as it begins to implement the mandates of the EO.
…
Continue Reading Catching Waves: OMB Issues New Implementation Guidance for Biden Administration Buy American Executive Order

In the months since President Biden took office, legislators have tried—and thus far failed—to pass legislation raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour. While the debate rages on, the Biden-Harris administration has taken executive action to ensure that some workers receive a higher wage for work under federal contracts. On April 27, 2021, President Biden issued the Executive Order on Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors, which will have a (relatively) short-term impact on thousands of contractors and their employees. The Executive Order aims to “promote economy and efficiency in procurement by contracting with sources that adequately compensate their workers.” It would increase the minimum wage paid by federal contractors from $10.95 per hour to $15 per hour. The increased minimum wage will begin appearing in solicitations and contracts, and thereby subcontracts, in early 2022, and contractors should begin preparing now to meet the increased minimum wage requirements.
…
Continue Reading Raising the Wage: Biden-Harris Administration Dramatically Increases Minimum Wage for Federal Government Contractors

A new administration has moved into the White House, and, as anticipated, President Biden wasted no time in issuing, in the first few days of his presidency, a raft of Executive Orders (EOs) that appear calculated to set the tone of his administration. Notably, many of these executive actions walk back (or attempt to fully erase) some of the signature policies of the Trump Administration. Some of these presidential actions have immediate implications for government contractors, while others represent broad policy statements that, at least in the short term, will have little impact on contractors’ day-to-day operations – but they merit a close watch, particularly the Executive Order titled “Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers,” discussed in detail here. Contractors should take note of these early developments, as they are likely to evolve into concrete policies that will create new opportunities – or obstacles – for businesses in the federal marketplace in the months and years to come.
…
Continue Reading The Beginning of the Biden Administration – What Federal Contractors Need to Know

On January 25, 2021, President Biden issued a sweeping Executive Order titled “Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers” (Order), which is intended to be the first step toward fulfilling his campaign promise to commit to American businesses by strengthening domestic preference rules in government procurement. The Order states the administration’s policy that the US government should “use terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards and Federal procurements to maximize the use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States.” While this is not a novel policy objective—indeed, the Trump administration articulated similar goals—the Order introduces certain dramatic steps in furtherance of that objective that may ultimately have significant implications for contractors.
…
Continue Reading Big Changes to Buy American—Biden Issues Broad Executive Order on the Future of Domestic Purchasing in Federal Procurement

On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping (the Order). The Order is directed squarely at federal contractors and subcontractors, and states that its purpose is to “promote economy and efficiency in Federal contracting, . . . unity in the Federal workforce, and . . . combat[] offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating.” The Order is effective immediately but is applicable to contracts issued after November 22, 2020 (60 days after the Order).
…
Continue Reading UPDATE: New Executive Order and Accompanying OFCCP FAQs Demand Federal Contractors and Grantees Scrutinize All Diversity Workforce Training

On September 22, 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping. The Order is directed squarely at federal contractors and subcontractors and states that its purpose is to “promote economy and efficiency in Federal contracting, . . . unity in the Federal workforce, and . . . combat[] offensive and anti-American race and sex stereotyping and scapegoating.” The Order is effective immediately but is applicable to contracts issued after November 22, 2020 (60 days after the order).
…
Continue Reading New Executive Order Demands Federal Contractors and Grantees Scrutinize All Diversity Workforce Training

The Trump administration’s focus on enhancing “Buy American” requirements in federal procurement took a leap forward on July 15, 2019, with the issuance of an Executive Order (EO) on Maximizing Use of American-Made Goods, Products, and Materials. Unlike the administration’s previous executive orders – Executive Order 13788 of April 18, 2017 (Buy American and Hire American) and Executive Order 13858 of January 31, 2019 (Strengthening Buy American Preferences for Infrastructure Projects), this EO contains instructions to the FAR Council to change regulations that have been in place since the Eisenhower administration, tightening restrictions on acquiring foreign end products.  In particular, the EO makes dramatic changes to the domestic origin requirements for iron and steel products.
…
Continue Reading Buy (More) American: The Trump Administration Finally Ups the Ante on Domestic Origin Requirements (With the Final Impact Still TBD)

Following up on his repeated promises that the government will buy American and hire American, President Trump signed a Presidential Executive Order on Buy American and Hire American (the “Order”) on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, directing executive agencies to enhance acquisition preferences for domestic products and labor under federal contracts and federal grants. Federal contractors should note that the Order serves only as a blueprint for the administration’s intentions and imposes no immediate requirements. Those will follow — but in what form and to what degree, we can only guess. Contractors should prepare for those changes and be assured that – with respect to the Order’s impact on supply chains and contractor purchasing systems – the devil will indeed be in the details.
…
Continue Reading The Buy American–Hire American Executive Order: There Will Be Devils in the Details When Buying American