Compliance Stuff

The rules surrounding government agency use of artificial intelligence (“AI”) have changed. On April 3 rd , 2025, in accordance with  President Trump’s January 23 rd  Executive Order  regarding AI, the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued  M-25-21  and  M-25-22 , reshaping how federal agencies must use, inventory, and buy AI technologies. These sweeping memoranda rescind and substitute the Biden-era OMB memos  M-24-10  and  M-24-18 , ushering in a full regulatory buildout that prioritizes US-developed AI, mandates risk assessments for AI that may have significant impacts on Americans, and introduces new source-selection and intellectual property (“IP”) language into Requests for Proposals (“RFPs”). M-25-21: How Agencies Must Use AI OMB Memorandum M-25-21 requires agencies to bring structure and transparency to how they use AI— not just in future programs, but  with AI tools currently in use as well .  By July 2 nd , 2...

  The Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) is often seen as just a transparency tool. But for federal contractors, FOIA can pose real risks to confidential proprietary data. Recent updates from the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and pending litigation over contractor-submitted workforce reports make it clear that FOIA Exemption 4, which protects the disclosure of any confidential commercial or financial information, safeguards are stronger than ever, but only if you know how to use them. This January, the DOJ updated its  FOIA Guide  to clarify how Exemption 4 applies post- Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media.  588 U.S. 427 (2019). In the  Food Marketing Institute  case, the Supreme Court held that proprietary information can be withheld if it is both customarily and treated as private by the owner and was submitted to the government with an expectation of confidentiality.  Id . at 440. There is no longer a need to show  substantial compe...

Today’s blog addresses two significant technology related changes at GSA.  First, GSA’s rollout of its  Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) Catalog Program (FCP)  continues with minimal disruptions.  Second, reductions in IT staff are having an impact on GSA’s other, more established, tools. The FCP rollout is increasing in pace.  As a refresher, FCP is replacing GSA’s horribly outdated SIP program.   FCP is a web-based application, as opposed to the SIP desktop software.  It is more flexible, reliable, better integrated into other GSA tools ( e.g. , GSA Advantage and eMod), simpler, and provides access to GSA market research.  GSA is currently rolling FCP out to contractors with product catalogs and will move to service catalogs in FY2025.   We’ve received a lot of questions from clients regarding the onboarding emails, but very few questions once clients have begun the transition process.  In other words, the onboarding email is a little...

We’ve either heard of or seen several instances where a letter terminating a government contract for the government’s convenience has included an incredibly brief time for submitting a settlement proposal. Regulations  state  that a contractor terminated for the government’s convenience has one year to submit a settlement proposal .  This makes sense.  Depending on the type of contract, the contractor may not even know all of the expenses viable in a settlement.  Further, some contractors will require outside legal and accounting support; getting those resources hired may take more time than permitted in the letters that we have seen. So what should a contractor do?  First, ask the contracting officer for a reasonable extension.   Keep in mind that the contracting officers are under pressure to wrap these contracts up quickly and demanding a full year will likely be poorly received .  Second, take the time necessary to complete an accurate and co...

  Here is the most up to date information on GSA Schedule policy changes, new awards, modifications of existing schedules, and the impact on current schedule holders.   GSA Workforce Reductions: The GSA is currently undergoing significant workforce reductions, including voluntary early retirements, resignations, and planned reductions in force (RIF). GSA is implementing a 50% reduction in both budget/staff. Overall staffing levels are expected to decrease substantially. Due to these reductions, GSA office consolidations and closures are also anticipated, potentially affecting contract administration timelines. GSA Schedule Minimum Sales Requirements: GSA has recently updated minimum sales requirements for Multiple Award Schedules (MAS). Contractors must now achieve $100,000 in sales within the first five years and $125,000 in each subsequent five-year period to maintain their schedule contracts. GSA intends to resume enforcement of these minimum sales thresholds, which may lea...

  The System for Award Management (SAM) is the exclusive, government-wide, registration system for all companies seeking to do business with the Federal Government. All offerors must be registered in SAM before being awarded a federal contract. SAM is also available to grantees and others, including foreign companies. Companies are well advised to begin a new registration, or complete their annual updates, well in advance of deadlines to avoid potential system issues or preclusion from being awarded work. Since 2018, t he FAR [i]  has requires that a vendor be registered at the time of submission of an offer “and shall continue to be registered until time of award, during performance, and through final payment of any contract,” unless an exception applies.   Recent Court of Federal Claims and Government Accounting Office (GAO) decisions have strictly interpreted the FAR provision regarding continuous registration in SAM, which has resulted in several companies being disq...