The Weekly Update recaps recent legislative and regulatory updates affecting
government contractors and commercial businesses.
If you have questions concerning this content, please email marketing@pilieromazza.com.
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Season’s Greetings from PilieroMazza!
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS / FALSE CLAIMS ACT / AUDITS & INVESTIGATIONS
Inside the SBA’s Full-Scale 8(a) Audit: What Participants Need to Know Now, PilieroMazza Webinar Replay, Matthew E. Feinberg, Meghan F. Leemon
The SBA has issued formal data and document requests to all certified 8(a) participants, marking the first major step in the “immediate and full-scale audit” announced in June 2025. Prompted largely by recent media allegations of widespread (but unproven) fraud, scrutiny of the 8(a) Program is intensifying, raising the risk of collateral damage for 8(a) companies. Join PilieroMazza’s Matt Feinberg and Meghan Leemon for this can’t-miss webinar as they cover what this heightened scrutiny means for current and future 8(a) participants—and share a high-level overview of steps you can take now to protect your business. Click here to view the recorded session and here for more information on PilieroMazza’s 8(a) Audit Response Task Force.
PilieroMazza’s Matt Feinberg Shares Key Impacts of SBA’s 8(a) Audit on Tribally Owned Contractors with Tribal Business News, PilieroMazza News, Matthew E. Feinberg
Matt Feinberg of PilieroMazza recently spoke with and Brian Edwards of Tribal Business News about the SBA’s 8(a) audit and its impact on tribally owned businesses operating in the federal procurement space. Below is the complete article, which also can be accessed through this link. Read more here.
U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) Press Release: Sullivan Secures Long Overdue Fix to the Small Business Administration (SBA) Rule for Small Business Contracting
On December 10, Sen. Sullivan announced that the SBA formally implemented his measure modifying the “bona fide place of business” requirement. Under the updated policy, 8(a) firms will no longer need to establish a staffed physical office in a state prior to bidding on a federal contract. Instead, businesses will have 60 days after a contract is awarded to meet any location requirement. Read more here.
Defense Firms Lose Push to Get Reimbursed for Interest Costs, Bloomberg Government
An annual defense policy bill the House plans to consider this week ditches a provision that would’ve authorized the Pentagon to reimburse defense contractors for interest costs incurred financing facilities upgrades. It’s a setback for companies large and small seeking a major financial benefit to expand their current defense-related infrastructure to win Pentagon contracts without taking on the extra interest expense. Read more here (subscription required).
Congress Quietly Strips Right-To-Repair Provisions from 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Despite Wide Support, Federal News Network
Despite its popularity and broad bipartisan support, right-to-repair provisions that would have given service members the ability to fix their own equipment in the field were stripped from the compromise version of the 2026 defense policy bill after industry pushback. Read more here.
Technology Modernization Fund Reauthorization Not Included in National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), NextGov/FCW
Lawmakers opted not to include a reauthorization package for the Technology Modernization Fund in the final negotiated text for the must-pass NDAA that was released Sunday night. The revolving fund — set up in 2017 to back government modernization projects — will expire at the end of this week without congressional action. Read more here.
Trump Signs Order Targeting ‘Cumbersome’ State Artificial Intelligence (AI) Regulation, Route Fifty
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on December 11 to federally preempt state artificial intelligence regulations, taking multiple steps to identify state AI laws that “warrant change” — including establishing a new AI Litigation Task Force, restricting broadband grant funding to states deemed to have noncompliant laws and beginning preparations for a uniform federal AI policy framework. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
SEMINAR: 2026 Procurement Realities, January 14, 2026, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
WEBINAR: Nuts, Bolts, and Beyond: To Be a Government Contractor, January 15, 2026, Eric Valle
CONFERENCE: Warfighting at Warp Speed: Why Defense Contractors Must Track the DOW’s Acquisition Overhaul, January 20, 2026, Josie Farinelli
PM WEBINAR: Warfighting at Warp Speed: Why Defense Contractors Must Track the DOW’s Acquisition Overhaul, January 28, 2026, Lauren Brier, Josie Farinelli
When to File an OCI Protest: GAO Decision Suggests Early Filing Is Best, PilieroMazza Blog, Katherine B. Burrows, Eric Valle
An organizational conflict of interest (OCI) is a significant issue for both contractors and the government. When a contract opportunity presents a potential or actual OCI—whether due to unequal access to information, biased ground rules, or impaired objectivity—and the conflict is not sufficiently mitigated or neutralized, a procuring agency may find the contractor ineligible for award. Thus, if a contractor believes a competitor has an unmitigated OCI, filing a protest alleging the OCI’s existence and challenging the competitor’s eligibility for award, can be a powerful tool for contractors trying to protect their competitive position and ensure a fair procurement process. Read more here.
Department of Labor (DOL) News Release: DOL and Department of Education (DOE) Celebrate Successful Implementation of Workforce Development Partnership
On December 5, the DOL and the DOE provided an update on the Trump Administration’s historic actions to integrate the federal government’s workforce development portfolio, announcing that the departments transitioned the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act state plan portal to the DOL to streamline federal workforce development programs. Read more here.
House Passes Bill Nullifying Trump’s Anti-Union EOs, Government Executive
The House voted 231-195 on December 11 to pass legislation that would nullify President Trump’s efforts to strip more than 1 million federal workers of their collective bargaining rights, sending the measure over to the Senate, where its prospects are less rosy. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
CONFERENCE: 2026 Employment Law Rescue Guide for Contractors, January 28, 2026, Nichole D. Atallah
PM WEBINAR: You’re Hired! Restrictions on Hiring Former Government Employees for Government Contractors, February 3, 2026, Sara Ryan, Abigail “Abby” Finan
MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS / LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION / GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
Managing Litigation Risk During the Business Lifecycle, Part 8: Representations, Warranties, and Post-Sale Disputes, PilieroMazza Blog, Abigail “Abby” L. Baker, Todd M. Reinecker, Akinyi Orinda, Ashley Krause
Representations and warranties are the backbone of risk allocation in any transaction. While due diligence and valuation models often drive the economic terms of a deal, representations and warranties determine how risk is allocated when a transaction does not unfold as expected. As a result, the way these provisions are drafted and negotiated frequently determines whether post-closing issues remain manageable business challenges or escalate into full-scale litigation. In this last installment of PilieroMazza’s blog series, “Managing Litigation Risk During the Business Lifecycle,” we explore how representations and warranties function as risk allocation tools and how careful drafting can reduce the likelihood and severity of post-sale disputes. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
TRAINING: Mergers & Acquisitions in Government Contracting: Novations and Recertification, January 15, 2026, Daniel Figuenick, III, Emily A. Reid
TRAINING: Insights on the Regulations Pertaining to Novation’s and How It Impacts Company Value, February 11, 2026, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV, Abigail “Abby” L. Baker
LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION / AUDITS & INVESTIGATIONS
Passport to Trouble: Court Dismisses Foreign Bank Accountholders’ Penalty Challenge, PilieroMazza Blog, Paul A. Allulis, Matthew E. Feinberg
Enforcing foreign bank account reporting requirements through penalties has been an IRS priority for several years, spawning numerous precedent-setting cases throughout the courts. In the latest such case, a federal appeals court rebuffed foreign bank account holders’ efforts to resist the federal government’s robust powers to collect those penalties. This case demonstrates two things: (1) not all IRS-administered penalties are treated like taxes and (2) understanding the difference is critical to effectively challenging them—especially for foreign bank accountholders who could face far-reaching consequences. Read more here.
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