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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PilieroMazza Earns Top Ranking for Government Contracting Thought Leadership in 2026 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, PilieroMazza News PilieroMazza is proud to announce that the Firm was named Top Government Contracting Firm in the 2026 JD Supra Readers’ Choice Awards, recognizing leading firms and authors for thought leadership and reader engagement throughout 2025. In addition to the firmwide honor, Jackie Unger earned individual recognition as #1 in Government Contracts, and Isaias “Cy” Alba took the #2 spot on the list. Read more here.
PilieroMazza’s Ryan Boonstra Receives SAME Philadelphia Young Professional Award and 5-Year Membership Recognition, PilieroMazza News
PilieroMazza is proud to announce that Ryan Boonstra (pictured on the left) received the Young Professional Award from the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Philadelphia Post in recognition of his leadership and service as the Post’s Fundraising Committee Chair. In addition to this recognition, Ryan will also receive a 5-Year Membership Award, marking his continued involvement and dedication to SAME and the A/E/C community. Read more here.
Sending Out An SOS for the LOS, PilieroMazza Client Alert, Jon Williams, Adel Mansour
The limitations on subcontracting, or LOS, is a fundamental requirement of set-aside contracting. Historically, however, the LOS has not received as much attention as other set-aside compliance obligations that are more regularly the focus of audits, enforcement actions, and protests. But that changed with recent high-profile audits by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Department of War (DOW) that are putting a spotlight on LOS compliance. Read more here.
Navigating the DOW 8(a)/Set-Aside Audit and Termination Threat, PilieroMazza Client Alert, Lauren Brier, Josie Farinelli
On January 16, 2026, Secretary Hegseth announced in a video posted on X that the DOW would undertake an audit of all 8(a) sole-source awards over $20 Million to redirect defense spending to programs that enhance lethality while curbing fraud, waste, and abuse. Since that announcement, a DOW memorandum was made public revealing the scope is broader than anticipated. Rather than just 8(a) sole-source awards, DOW is auditing any active 8(a) sole-source contract, 8(a) set-aside contract, or small business set-aside contract over $20 Million. As discussed in PilieroMazza’s client alert about DOW’s spotlight on compliance with the limitations on subcontracting, broadening the scope of this audit to all small business set-asides is a major change and underscores Secretary Hegseth’s statements about eliminating “pass-throughs.” In this blog, PilieroMazza discusses what we know so far about how the audit is unfolding and steps you can take now to better position your company if your audited contract is threatened with termination. Read more here.
SCOTUS Limits Presidential Tariff Powers: Key Takeaways for Government Contractors, PilieroMazza Client Alert, Jacqueline K. Unger, Ryan Boonstra
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS or the Court) issued a major decision in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump limiting the Trump Administration’s ability to impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The decision narrows the executive’s emergency economic powers and reinforces congressional control over tariffs. This ruling carries significant implications for government contractors who have spent the past year navigating rapidly shifting tariff regimes. We break down the Court’s holding and what contractors need to know. Read more here.
Unlocking New Contracting Opportunities with the U.S. Coast Guard, PilieroMazza Blog, Lauren Brier, Josie Farinelli, Kristine “Krissy” Crallé
It’s been a year since the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) launched its Force Design 2028 (FD28) initiative to enhance agility, capability, and responsiveness. FD28 is off to a roaring start, considering the USCG already spent over $7 Billion of the $25 Billion investment from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. With lofty goals and a historic influx of funding to support the largest overhaul of the service since World War II, FD28 offers numerous contracting opportunities for small businesses. This blog provides an overview of USCG contracting and highlights key USCG initiatives that all federal contractors should track closely. Read more here.
Executive Orders:
- Continuing The Suspension Of Duty-Free De MinimisTreatment For All Countries. On February 20, the President issued an EO revising EO 14324 to continue the suspension of the duty-free de minimis exemption provided under 19 U.S.C. 1321(a)(2)(C) to any shipment of articles not covered by 50 U.S.C. 1702(b), regardless of value, country of origin, mode of transportation, or method of entry. The EO is available here.
- Ending Certain Tariff Actions. On February 20, the President issued an EO ending the additional ad valorem duties imposed pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in EOs 14193, 14194, 14195, 14245, 14257, 14323, 14329, 14380, and 14382. The EO is available here.
Presidential Proclamation: Imposing a Temporary Import Surcharge to Address Fundamental International Payments Problems
On February 20, the President issued a Proclamation imposing, for a period of 150 days, a temporary import surcharge of 10 percent ad valorem on articles imported into the US, effective February 24, 2026. The Proclamation is available here.
Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Proposed Rule: Prohibition on Certain Semiconductor Products and Services
On February 17, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy published a proposed rule and request for comments regarding the prohibition of executive agencies from procuring or obtaining certain products and services that include covered semiconductor products or services. This rule implements the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 and will be effective December 23, 2027. The rule is available here. Comments will close April 20, 2026.
Small Business Administration (SBA) Blogs:
- SBA Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development to Host Public Meeting on March 4. On February 19, SBA announced that the upcoming quarterly public meeting for the Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Veterans Small Business Development will be held on March 4 from 1-3 p.m. EST. This meeting is open to the public. Virtual participants may join here. Participants may join by phone at: +1 206-413-7980 and enter Conference ID: 590 108 747#. Public comments and questions are strongly encouraged to be submitted in advance via email to veteransbusiness@sba.gov by Feb. 27. More information is available here.
- SBA Resources: Optimizing Veteran and Military Spouse Success. For veterans and military spouses, entrepreneurship provides a powerful pathway to continue serving—by turning military-honed skills, such as leadership, adaptability, and resilience, into small business ownership. Sometimes, navigating the transition from military life to business ownership comes with unique challenges. That’s where SBA resource partners make a big difference. Through SBA grants, the following veteran entrepreneurial training programs help mentor and educate business owners at each stage of their businesses. Most programs are offered at no cost; however, some require veterans and military spouses to fund their own travel and fees. More information is available here.
DOD Seeks Input For Phase 2 Of FAR Overhaul, Law360
The U.S. Department of Defense is seeking input from the defense industrial base and acquisition stakeholders concerning how the next phase of the Trump administration’s effort to streamline the Federal Acquisition Regulation can be used to boost the country’s wartime readiness. Read more here (subscription required).
Department of War News Release: Army Doctrine Writers Embrace AI to Speed Knowledge to Force
The process of writing Army doctrine, traditionally measured in years, is getting a 21st-century upgrade. Thanks to digital tools, some enabled by artificial intelligence, authors at the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate are examining processes and gaining efficiencies without sacrificing their high standards for quality and precision. Read more here.
TSA Says PreCheck Still Operational After Previous Announcement of Suspension During Funding Fight, The Hill
The Transportation Security Administration said Sunday that its PreCheck program would remain operational despite an earlier announcement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that the airport security service was being suspended during the partial government shutdown. “As staffing constraints arise, TSA will evaluate on a case-by-case basis and adjust operations accordingly,” the agency said. Read more here.
Contract Reviews Continue at OMB, Official Says, Government Executive
OMB is engaged in and leading a review of IT contracts across the government, Eric Ueland, deputy director for management at OMB, told attendees at a Nextgov/FCW event Wednesday, saying that the government needs to look forward to what’s coming next. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
CONFERENCE: Managing the Financial Impact of Tariffs on Your Government Contracts, March 4, 2026, Jacqueline K. Unger, Ryan Boonstra
SEMINAR: Government Contractors and Tariff Challenges: Strategies for Success, March 11, 2026, Jacqueline K. Unger
CONFERENCE: Federal Small Business Update — Threats and Opportunities in the Current Environment, March 12, 2026, Lauren Brier
LITIGATION & DISPUTE RESOLUTION
SVOG Alert: SBA Demands Supplemental Documents from Grant Recipients Who Appealed SBA’s Decision to Rescind Their SVOG Grants, PilieroMazza Blog, Matthew E. Feinberg, Paul A. Allulis
In July 2025, we wrote that the Small Business Administration (SBA) had begun issuing letters to recipients of grant funds under the $16.25 Billion COVID-era Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, rescinding grant recipients’ eligibility for the program and demanding full or partial repayment of the grants years after award. SBA gave grantees 30 days to file an appeal. SBA continued issuing rescission letters to grantees through at least October 2025, including to grantees whose SVOG awards had been fully closed out. After months of silence, SBA is now issuing new letters to some grantees seeking yet more documents and information to support their eligibility. However, SBA’s requests deviate from the statutory program eligibility requirements, seemingly imposing brand new conditions on grant recipients to prove eligibility based on criteria never previously disclosed. Grant recipients under the SVOG program who receive supplemental document and information requests from SBA should take the requests seriously, provide available documentary support (even if already provided), and advance both factual and legal arguments to demonstrate eligibility. Read more here.
What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You: Recent Federal Circuit Argument Highlights Why Intervening in Bid Protests is Critical, PilieroMazza Blog, Katherine B. Burrows, Eric Valle, Josie Farinelli
Contractors spend months, if not years, preparing a bid on a single federal contract. So, when the investment pays off and you win the contract, it is a punch to the gut to see a competitor protest your award. Awardees all too often assume the procuring agency and/or the Department of Justice (DOJ) will adequately defend the procurement. Awardees don’t just take the punch, but they get in the ring and punch back as an intervenor in the protest. For government contractors, intervening in a bid protest is almost always a strategic necessity—relying solely on the government to safeguard your interests is a gamble that can cost you the award, damage your reputation, and jeopardize your most confidential business information. Read more here.
Is Your Government Settlement Really Final? The Pratt & Whitney Decision Raises Doubts, PilieroMazza Blog, Lauren Brier, Josie Farinelli
In 1984, Steve Jobs introduced the Macintosh personal computer to the United States, Arnold Schwarzenegger hit the silver screen as The Terminator, and Pratt & Whitney began its now four-decade-long fight with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA). The battle continues, as the Federal Circuit’s latest decision in what may be the longest-enduring cost‑accounting dispute in the history of government contracts—Secretary of Defense v. Pratt & Whitney, 160 F.4th 1224 (Fed. Cir. 2025)—still has not resolved the underlying Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) issues. The decision, however, may have broader consequences for the entire government contract community, calling into question the stability of negotiated settlements, the limits of contracting officer (CO) authority, and the risks contractors face when the government later decides an agreement was “illegal” from the start. In this blog, PilieroMazza explores how the Federal Circuit’s decision may impact the CO’s authority to settle claims and what that means for your bottom line. Read more here.
Department of Labor (DOL) News Release: DOL Launches Open Data Portal to Enhance Access to Labor Data
On February 18, DOL announced that it launched a modern open data portal at data.dol.gov, making it more transparent and efficient for users to access data related to the American workforce. The portal helps bring the department into alignment with the OPEN Government Data Act of 2019 and the Federal Data Strategy. Read more here.
Trump Administration Further Clarifies Telework Expectations, Federal News Network
The Trump administration is attempting to clarify how and when agencies should approve exceptions to the return-to-office mandate, particularly for federal employees with disabilities who request reasonable accommodations to telework. Guidance from OPM and EEOC details steps agencies should take when granting, modifying or denying telework requests from federal employees with disabilities. Read more here.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Clarifies That Agencies Should Not Violate Court Orders to Terminate Union Contracts, Government Executive
OPM clarified this week that a recent memo instructing agencies to push forward with the termination contracts with federal employee unions was not intended to encourage violating court orders blocking two executive orders excising labor from much of the federal government. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
TRAINING: Labor Rules & Regulations: Federal Market Compliance, March 18, 2026, Sarah L. Nash
CONFERENCE: Ins and Outs of the Service Contract Act, March 23, 2026, Nichole D. Atallah
CONFERENCE: DMV Legal Compliance Toolkit: Practical Insights for Multi-Jurisdictional Employers, March 24, 2026, Sarah L. Nash
CONFERENCE: You’re Fired! Legal Risks of Personnel Management for Tribally Owned Entities, March 25, 2026, Nichole D. Atallah
FALSE CLAIMS ACT / AUDITS & INVESTIGATIONS
Administrative False Claims Act—Another Tool in the Government’s Enforcement Arsenal, PilieroMazza Blog, Lauren Brier, Ryan Boonstra
A recent announcement by the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals (CBCA) garnered attention for the Administrative False Claims Act (AFCA), which was previously named the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act of 1986. The AFCA was enacted in December 2024, and many agencies are slowly implementing and addressing its procedures through rulemaking, including the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Postal Service, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the Railroad Retirement Board—and of relevance here and most recently—the CBCA. The CBCA’s changes are driven by the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which expanded AFCA-related CBCA jurisdiction. Agencies now have an additional enforcement tool to pursue contractors they believe submitted not only false claims, but any false written statement—significantly increasing administrative risk exposure. Read more here.
Department of Labor (DOL) News Release: DOL to Probe California’s Unemployment Insurance Program to Address Fraud and Improper Payment Concerns
On February 18, DOL announced that it will be auditing California’s Unemployment Insurance program due to concerns that the program is performing poorly with increased improper payment rates, insufficient payment timeliness, and inaccuracy and poor quality of data. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
PM WEBINAR: PilieroMazza Annual Review: FCA Enforcement and Compliance Updates for Government Contractors—What to Watch in 2026, March 3, 2026, Jacqueline K. Unger, Todd M. Reinecker
General Services Administration (GSA) Blog: Get to Know the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC)
On February 12, GSA published a blog outlining the basic information contractors need regarding CMMC. Read more here.
The White House Scrapped Software Bills of Materials (SBOMs) in Favor of Agency-Managed Cyber Risk. Flexibility, Meet Accountability, Federal News Network
Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) new memo rescinds the Biden-era requirements and shifts software and hardware security to an agency-driven, risk-based model. SBOMs and attestations move from “must” to “may.” That means CIOs and CISOs can tailor what they ask for from vendors, but they’ll also carry the burden of proving those choices keep mission systems safe. We’ll dig into what this change unlocks and where it could create blind spots. Read more here.
Congressional Report Recommends ‘FedRAMP’ for Commercial Data Brokers, Federal News Network
Amid persistent concerns about how agencies make use of data brokers, a new congressionally chartered report recommends setting up an authorization framework to regulate the federal government’s use of commercially available information. Read more here.
Upcoming Presentations
PM WEBINAR: CMMC Mission Readiness: Navigating Growth, Costs, and Competition for Defense Contractors, March 11, 2026, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV
General Services Administration (GSA) News Releases:
- Alliant 3: GSA’s New Governmentwide Acquisition Contract (GWAC) Supports Procurement Consolidation and Federal IT Modernization. On February 20, the GSA announced the phase 1 awards of the Alliant 3 GWAC enterprise-level information technology services contract, designed to help federal agencies acquire complex IT solutions with speed, consistency, and value for taxpayers. The Alliant 3 GWAC supports federal IT modernization and expands access to emerging technology services across agencies. Read more here.
- Connect with GSA at the CT Business Matchmaker in Hartford on March 5. On February 20, GSA announced that GSA’s Office of Small Disadvantaged Business Utilization will participate in the Connecticut (CT) Business Matchmaker event on March 5, 2026. This is a high-impact networking event designed to connect businesses with government buyers and prime contractors to strengthen our national/local supply chains and open opportunities for procurement for CT businesses. Those interested in attending may register here. Read more here.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & TECHNOLOGY RIGHTS
DOD Releases Intellectual Property Guidebook: Key Insights for Defense Contractors, Part 4, PilieroMazza Blog, Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV, Jacqueline K. Unger, Daniel Figuenick, III, Abigail “Abby” Finan
In May 2025, the Department of Defense (DOD) released its Intellectual Property Guidebook (Guidebook), providing contractors with invaluable insights into how DOD handles Intellectual Property (IP) and data rights in government contracts. In this final installment of PilieroMazza’s blog series, we dive into data rights assertions, data rights marking requirements, and data rights disputes and challenges. Read more here.
Foreign Buying of US Stocks Jumps 134% in 2025 Despite Tariffs, Bloomberg Government
Foreign investors bought more than twice the amount of US stocks in 2025 as they did a year before, even as President Donald Trump’s tariffs rattled markets and clouded corporate outlooks. Non-US purchases climbed to $720.1 billion on a net basis last year, up 134% from $307.5 billion in 2024, according to US Treasury Department data released on Wednesday. Read more here (subscription required).
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