Compliance Stuff

  The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) is an  Executive Order  that seeks to reform the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to eliminate barriers to doing business with the Federal Government. This monumental change is akin to removing the traffic light at a four-way intersection and replacing it with a stop sign. So, will the government’s signal change improve efficiency, or will it cause more traffic and accidents? Let’s take a look. What is the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul? The  White House  intends for the RFO to streamline the procurement process. To achieve this goal, the FAR Council, the heads of agencies, and senior acquisition officials will amend the FAR so that it only contains provisions that are required by statute or “are otherwise necessary to support simplicity and usability, strengthen the efficacy of the procurement system, or protect economic or national security interests.” To date, little guidance has been issued to determine which regulatio...

  As 2025 approaches, the FAR Council has released its   proposed  adjusted  acquisition thresholds . The proposed adjustment increases the thresholds to account for inflation and the Consumer Price Index. The most heavily used thresholds affected by the proposed increase are the   micro-purchase threshold (MPT)   and the   simplified  acquisition  threshold (SAT) . While the proposed adjustment affects several acquisition thresholds, it is important to note it does not apply to the Construction Wage Rate Requirements statute (Davis-Bacon Act), Service Contract Labor Standard statute, performance and payment bonds, or trade agreement thresholds. What is the Micro-Purchase Threshold? The proposed rule increases the MPT from $10,000 to $15,000. For purchases at or below the MPT, authorized agency officials can use a   Governmentwide commercial purchase card , which is similar to a commercial credit card, to make purchases without solicitin...

  The SBA dropped a bombshell   proposed  rule   last week that it estimates could result in an additional $6 billion in government contract task or delivery orders going to   small businesses . The rule would confirm that the the advantageous (though occasionally maligned)  Rule of Two  applies to competitions under multiple award contracts (MACs). The increased use of large multi-award contracts helps and hurts small businesses These  huge  contracting vehicles—Government-Wide Acquisition Contracts, Multi-Agency Contracts, Blanket Purchase Agreements—are generally indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (“IDIQ”) where those companies that hold the contracts later compete for task or delivery orders placed by authorized agencies. Over the last decade or so, these vehicles have grown in popularity. Though they almost always include a small business reserve, some advocates have complained that the small businesses even if they are awarded ar...