The Weekly Update recaps recent legislative and regulatory updates affecting
government contractors and commercial businesses.
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National Security Presidential Memorandum / NSPM-11
On June 5, the President issued a Presidential Memorandum (Memo) addressing the Administration’s policy to accelerate the development and use of artificial intelligence (AI) for national security applications, guided by four pillars: Adoption, Adaption, Assurance, and Accountability. The Memo establishes timelines for various departments and agencies to update policies and guidance related to AI. Among those is an instruction regarding systems under the Federal Information Security Modernization Act of 2014, for the Secretary of War, the Director of National Intelligence, and other relevant agency heads, to direct, to the maximum extent permissible by law, termination for default or for convenience contracts with companies that have repeatedly demonstrated a pattern of conduct that is inconsistent with policies laid out in section 2 of the Memo, including contracts under which such companies provide services to the applicable agencies as subcontractors. Read more here.
Senate $1.15 Trillion Defense Bill Blocks Europe Troop Cuts, Bloomberg Government
The Senate Armed Services Committee has approved an annual $1.15 trillion defense authorization measure that would prohibit the reduction of US military forces in Europe and would authorize $780 million for Ukraine through 2029. Read more here (subscription required).
ICE Is Now Funded Through End Of Trump’s Term, Raising Worries About Oversight, NPR
Federal agencies responsible for immigration enforcement are set to receive tens of billions more dollars after Congress voted to fund them not just for the year, but through the rest of President Trump’s term. The House narrowly voted to direct roughly $70 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, the second multi-billion dollar infusion of money to the agencies in the last year muscled through by Republicans alone. The vote marks the end of a 115 day standoff over immigration policy. Read more here.
Defense Pricing, Contracting, and Acquisition Policy (DPCAP) Memorandum: Contracting Functional Area Certification Change for Fiscal Year 2027
On Friday, the Principal Director of DPCAP issued a memorandum providing notification that CON 7300V, Price Analysis, will be added to the Contracting Professional Certification requirements, effective 1 Oct 2026. CON 7300V will be a mandatory requirement for the DoW Contracting Professional Certification. This change directly advances the “initial readiness” mandate of the Secretary of War’s Acquisition Transformation Strategy by empowering our workforce with the critical pricing skills needed to rapidly execute the contracting mission and deliver affordable capabilities to the Warfighter. CON 7300V is an 8-day virtual instructor-led training course offered by the Defense Acquisition University which teaches acquisition professionals the core methodologies to evaluate contractor proposals, assess market conditions, and substantiate that negotiated prices are fair and reasonable. Read more here.
Next DHS Spending Bill Gets House Republicans’ Panel Approval, Bloomberg Government
House Republicans advanced a $65 billion package Thursday for the Department of Homeland Security as Democrats keep rejecting spending money on immigration enforcement without overhauling those agencies. The House Appropriations Committee voted 34-27 to advance legislation that would fund DHS agencies past Sept. 30 that endured a historically long shutdown earlier this year. The measure covers the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Secret Service, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Read more here (subscription required).
Trump Signals Interest in US Equity Stake in AI Firms: BGOV AI, Bloomberg Government
President Donald Trump expressed interest in the US government holding equity stakes in leading AI developers, saying that he planned to discuss the idea of a partnership with AI companies’ executives this week, Jennifer A. Dlouhy and Annmarie Hordern report. Read more here (subscription required).
Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report: Disaster Contracting: Actions Needed to Encourage Advance Contract Use and Improve Information Sharing and Oversight
On June 9, GAO released a report examining: (1) selected governments’ perspectives on the use of advance contracts for debris removal, and the extent to which FEMA encouraged the use of advance contracts; and the extent to which (2) the Army Corps developed processes for reporting advance contract debris removal efforts during the responses to two disasters; and (3) FEMA mitigated risks in its debris removal program. GAO recommended that FEMA define roles and responsibilities in encouraging advance contract use, that the Army Corps analyzes differences in information sharing in its recent disaster responses, and that FEMA develops a process to identify and address risks of fraud, waste, and abuse. Read more here.
Senators Want A New Robot Warfare-Focused Combatant Command, Defense One
Senators want the Pentagon to create a new autonomous warfare-focused combatant command led by a four-star general, according to the latest version of the annual defense policy bill. Read more here.
Senate GOP Balks At Trump Demand To Boost Defense Funding In Third Reconciliation Bill, The Hill
Senate Republicans say they are in no mood to back President Trump’s demand that Congress use the budget reconciliation process a third time to provide another $350 billion to the Pentagon. The GOP senators, who just slogged through an overnight 18-hour series of votes last week to pass a $70 billion package funding immigration enforcement operations, say a third process would put their vulnerable GOP colleagues in a tough political position. Read more here.
Senate Panel Moves Forward ‘Department Of War’ Name Change, The Hill
Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee this week pushed forward the Trump administration’s desired “Department of War” name change in passing their version of the annual defense policy bill. Read more here.
DOT Scrubs Disparate Impact From Discrimination Regs, Law360
The U.S. Department of Transportation on Wednesday eliminated disparate impact from its regulations governing discrimination, as part of the Trump administration’s sweeping rejection of the theory of liability premised on seemingly neutral policies having discriminatory effects. Read more here (subscription required).
Upcoming Presentations
TRAINING: FUN with the FAR 2026: 19 & 26, June 24, 2026, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
PM WEBINAR: Joint Venture Eligibility: Refresher and Updates on Requirements for Government Contractors, July 9, 2026, Meghan Leemon
WEBINAR: GovCon 101: Small Business Programs, July 13, 2026, Meghan Leemon
PM WEBINAR: DCAA Presents: Accounting System Compliance Requirements Every Government Contractor Must Know, July 14, 2026, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV; Peggy Galindo, Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA); Paul Calabrese, GRF CPAs & Advisors
WEBINAR: Legal Strategies & Capture Planning, July 17, 2026, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
Upcoming Presentations
PM WEBINAR: Contract Claims 101: Common and Uncommon Claims and Appeals, July 15, 2026, Lauren Brier, Caitlin Trevillyan, Jonathan “Jon” R. Neri, Ryan Boonstra
Punching In: California Workplace AI Bills Make the Short List, Bloomberg Government
Bills restricting automation of workplace disciplinary decisions, targeting worker surveillance, and monitoring AI job losses in California, were among the legislation that survived a key 2026 session deadline. The state Senate has passed a revived version (SB 947) of the “No Robo Bosses Act” that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) vetoed last year. If it can win Newsom’s approval this time around, the robo bosses bill would set limits on employers’ use of automated decision systems for disciplinary actions including terminations, predictions about workers’ behavior, and setting wages. For decisions where the employer primarily relies on an automated system, it must provide the worker with notice including information about their personal data and other evidence considered. Read more here (subscription required).
EEOC Drops Requirements For Agencies To Report Race, Sex, Ethnicity Workforce Data, Federal News Network
Agencies can omit details from workforce demographic reports that would “raise legal or policy concerns” or conflict with President Trump’s orders, EEOC said. EEOC is no longer requiring agencies to report breakdowns of race, sex and ethnicity in the federal workforce. Agencies also do not have to address “diversity and inclusion” principles, “triggers” or “gender identity” in their annual demographic data reports, EEOC said in June 3 instructions. Read more here.
House Passes Bill to Accelerate Labor Contract Negotiations, Bloomberg Government
House lawmakers passed a bill that would impose strict bargaining timelines for employers and labor groups when negotiating a first union contract. The US House of Representatives voted 230-193 Tuesday to pass the Faster Labor Contracts Act, a union-backed bill that would alter existing federal labor law to speed up contract negotiations. It takes an average of 461 days for a union to ratify its first contract, according to Bloomberg Law data compiled from 553 first contracts from 2005-2025. Read more here (subscription required).
Union Renews Call For Lawmakers To Override Trump’s Anti-Union EO At The Pentagon, Government Executive
Last year, the House voted to pass its annual defense policy bill with a provision that would have halted implementation of President Trump’s executive order banning collective bargaining at the Defense Department and other agencies, but the Senate axed the measure. The nation’s largest federal employee union last week urged House lawmakers to once again bar the Defense Department from implementing President Trump’s executive order stripping two-thirds of the federal workforce of its collective bargaining rights. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
TRAINING: Labor Rules & Regulations: Federal Market Compliance, June 24, 2026, Nichole D. Atallah
TRAINING: FUN with the FAR 2026: FAR 22 & 23, July 8, 2026, Nichole D. Atallah
PM WEBINAR: Employee Organizing 101: What Employers Need to Know Before, During, and After Employees Organize, July 29, 2026, Sarah L. Nash, Georgianne “Georgi” Kokenis
CMMC Has Moved From Planning To Enforcement And Contractors Are Feeling It, Federal News Network
After years of preparation, cybersecurity requirements for defense contractors are now being enforced in real time. That shift is exposing gaps between what companies thought was necessary to be compliant and what actually meets the standard. Read more here.
Warner Proposes Overhaul Of Critical Infrastructure Cyber Plans As AI Threats Rise, Nextgov/FCW
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., is introducing legislation Wednesday requiring the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to update cybersecurity plans for each of the nation’s 16 critical infrastructure sectors, citing concerns that fast-evolving artificial intelligence tools will accelerate threats to essential services. The measure would require CISA to refresh long-outdated sector cybersecurity plans as lawmakers warn that advanced AI tools could accelerate the discovery and exploitation of software flaws. Read more here.
BGOV Bill Analysis: H.R. 8312, Government-Wide Fraud Watchdog, Bloomberg Government
A new government-wide inspector general office for fraud that would assume functions of a Covid-era oversight council would be established under H.R. 8312. The IG office, which would be housed in the Treasury Department, would investigate flows of federal dollars from all agencies. The bill would move the oversight panel, created to prevent misuse of pandemic-era economic aid, under the Treasury beginning in 2029. Read more here (subscription required).
Department of Justice (DOJ) Press Release: DOJ Concludes EEOC Disparate-Impact Guidelines Violate the Constitution
On June 9, DOJ announced it issued an opinion to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) that its guidelines about disparate-impact liability under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are unconstitutional. DOJ’s opinion for EEOC implements Executive Order 14281, which rejected disparate-impact liability insofar as “it creates a near insurmountable presumption [that] unlawful discrimination exists where there are any differences in outcomes in certain circumstances among different races, sexes, or similar groups.” Read more here.
FALSE CLAIMS ACT / WHITE COLLAR DEFENSE
House Votes to Block Convicted Fraudsters from Contracts, Grants, Bloomberg Government
The House passed a bill Monday to prohibit individuals convicted of certain felony offenses from receiving federal grants or contracts. The measure (H.R. 6916), passed by voice vote, would apply to individuals convicted of embezzlement, overvaluation of securities, making false statements, and other specified criminal offenses under the Small Business Act. Read more here (subscription required).
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & TECHNOLOGY RIGHTS
House Armed Services Committee (HASC) Advances Right To Repair Proposal, Industry Pushes Back, Federal News Network
The HASC adopted a far-reaching right to repair amendment Thursday over the objections of the committee’s chairman and several Republicans, setting up a major fight with industry over the Pentagon’s access to technical data and software. The amendment offered by Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.) and Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-N.C.) would establish government-purpose rights as the default for any technical data, software and software documentation delivered under future Defense Department contracts unless a contractor can demonstrate the need for more restrictive intellectual property rights. Read more here.
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