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This week's Weekly Debrief covers the partial government shutdown, space contracting, federal program fraud, and SBA's 8(a) program suspensions. Shutdown CBS News – What to know about the partial government shutdown as funding lapses for many agencies "Funding for many federal agencies expired at 12 a.m. on Saturday after Congress failed to pass half a dozen spending bills before the deadline, prompting a partial government shutdown. The funding lapse comes despite the Senate

[My #govconthoughts  series provides a quick take  on recent developments in the government contracting space.] It appears that Congress may not be able to pass funding legislation for the six stalled appropriations bills by the end of the week, which means that a partial government shutdown is once again on the horizon. I recently provided a top-level overview for contractors on how to navigate the shutdown, including key legal considerations and practical guidance for dea

We are not even through January 2026, and a lapse in federal appropriations appears increasingly possible, raising the prospect of a partial government shutdown. Multiple funding bills – including for the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Health and Human Services – remain stalled. And while government shutdowns are nothing new, they can be confusing to navigate and present contractors, both large and small, with meaningful leg

[My #govconthoughts  series provides a quick take  on recent developments in the government contracting space.] Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration ("SBA") published a news release announcing its new 8(a) Program guidance (and clarifications). As SBA notes, the guidance reiterates its view that " race-based discrimination within the 8(a) Business Development Program is unconstitutional and unlawful." The news release further states that SBA suspended over 1,000 8

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ" or the "Department") announced that settlements and judgments under the False Claims Act ("FCA") reached a record $6.8 billion in fiscal year 2025 ("FY25"). This total, the highest in the statute’s history, follows the $2.9 billion that DOJ recovered in FY24 , underscoring both a surge in whistleblower activity and the Department's continued emphasis on emerging areas of government program fraud beyond the healthcare sector

In a late Friday news dump, U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth posted a short video on X (f/k/a Twitter) announcing that the Pentagon will be taking a " sledgehammer to the oldest DEI program in the federal government—the 8(a) program." Effective immediately, the Pentagon will conduct a "line-by-line review" of all 8(a) sole source contracts over $20 million, "and we'll look at everything smaller than that, too." The watchword, according to Hegseth, is lethalit

The holiday season is in full swing and many of us are finding time for relaxation and family. For me, that’s meant light reading, cooking, cozying by the fireplace with movies, and listening to Taylor Swift songs on repeat with my daughter. With the downtime and Swift’s music still bouncing around my head, I thought it would be the perfect time to provide a fresh take on some recent bid protest data. Bid protests are an essential, yet often misunderstood, part of federal

[My #govcon  alerts provide a quick take  on recent news in the government contracting space.] There is an interesting development for anyone following the   Percipient.ai   bid protest saga that was before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit over the summer (discussed, in part, here ) . Following the Federal Circuit's en banc decision (7-4) in late August, which affirmed the U.S. Court of Federal Claims’ dismissal of Percipient.ai’s bid protest for lack of s

In what appears to be a first, the Government Accountability Office ("GAO") used its sanctions authority to dismiss a protest ( Oready,...

[My #govconthoughts  series provides a quick take  on recent developments in the government contracting space.] The recent Government...