On September 4, 2025, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) granted an appeal challenging SBA’s determination that a service-disabled veteran did not control an entity applying for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) status based on a minority owner’s ability to block certain actions in the matter of VSBC Appeal of: Blue Skye Foods, LLC, SBA No. VSBC-442-A.Continue Reading SBA’s OHA Further Defines Extraordinary Action in SDVOSB Appeal
Recent GAO Sustain Includes Valuable Lessons on Proposal Preparation and More
GAO’s recent sustain of the protest filed by emissary LLC provides valuable lessons for potential offerors with respect to organizational conflict of interest (OCI) mitigation plans (and their impact on technical approach), as well as their descriptions of key personnel qualifications.Continue Reading Recent GAO Sustain Includes Valuable Lessons on Proposal Preparation and More
Meet the New Nationwide Injunction. Same as the Old Nationwide Injunction.
Last week, we wrote that concerns about excessive, unchecked executive branch power resulting from the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. CASA—which declared universal/nationwide injunctions likely exceeded district courts’ equitable authority under FRCP 65—felt premature, because there were a number of other levers district courts could pull to deliver the equivalent of nationwide injunctive relief. We discussed how Section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) is one such lever. That section authorizes courts to “postpone the effective date” of a challenged agency action pending judicial review utilizing the same four-factor test applicable to requests for injunctive relief.Continue Reading Meet the New Nationwide Injunction. Same as the Old Nationwide Injunction.
GAO Moves the Goalposts: New Post-Debriefing Timeliness Trap for Protesters
The deadlines for filing a GAO protest are short and strictly enforced. In post-award protests, the general rule is that a company must file its protest within ten days of when the protester knows, or should have known, of its basis of protest. However, GAO’s regulations provide an exception to this rule for “protests challenging a procurement conducted on the basis of competitive proposals under which a debriefing is requested and, when requested, is required”—in such a situation, “[the] protest shall not be filed before the debriefing date offered to the protester, but shall be filed not later than 10 days after the date on which the debriefing is held.” 4 CFR §21.2(a)(2).Continue Reading GAO Moves the Goalposts: New Post-Debriefing Timeliness Trap for Protesters
Job Corps Centers: Widespread Contract Terminations due to Agency’s “Pause”
On May 29, 2025, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced that it will begin a “phased pause in operations at contractor-operated Job Corps centers nationwide.” The pause is anticipated to occur within a month—by June 30, 2025. To effectuate this pause, DOL has suspended operations at approximately one hundred contractor-operated Job Corps centers. DOL instructed centers to suspend program activities, transition students home, and implement other transition plans. According to DOL’s Frequently Asked Questions, the Department anticipates that students will transition to “state and local workforce partners” including American Job Centers and the Labor Exchange system in their home state.Continue Reading Job Corps Centers: Widespread Contract Terminations due to Agency’s “Pause”
“Confirm You’re Not a Robot”: AI-Written Briefs Could Lead to Sanctions
On May 7, 2025, GAO issued a decision in Raven Investigations & Security Consulting, LLC, B-423447, warning the bid protest bar that artificial intelligence (“AI”)-based tools utilized without proper oversight may result in severe consequences, including dismissal of the protest and sanctions.Continue Reading “Confirm You’re Not a Robot”: AI-Written Briefs Could Lead to Sanctions
Tribal Consultation Meeting for 8(a) Business Development and Mentor-Protégé Programs Provides Insight Into SBA Priorities Under the New Administration
On May 12, 2025, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it is holding a tribal consultation meeting and requesting comments and input on topics relating to the 8(a) and mentor-protégé programs. The tribal consultation will be held on June 13, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska, and SBA is anticipating that the meeting will cover a range of topics relevant to 8(a) and mentor-protégé program participants.Continue Reading Tribal Consultation Meeting for 8(a) Business Development and Mentor-Protégé Programs Provides Insight Into SBA Priorities Under the New Administration
Recent Deluge of Paycheck Protection Program False Claims Act Settlements
United States Attorneys’ Offices recently announced a number of False Claims Act (FCA) settlements arising out of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). These settlements reveal several trends that PPP loan recipients should be aware of.Continue Reading Recent Deluge of Paycheck Protection Program False Claims Act Settlements
SBA Issues “Day One” Memo – with a Particular Emphasis on Rooting out Fraud
On February 24, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a “Day One” memo outlining SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler’s priorities.
The “Day One” memo highlights SBA’s focus on the Trump administration initiatives—including implementing President Trump’s executive orders; mandating that all non-exempt employees return to full-time, in-office work; and working closely with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) in accomplishing accountability, transparency, and efficiency. SBA will relocate regional offices “currently based in sanctuary cities” to what it characterizes as “less costly, more accessible locations in communities that comply with federal immigration law.”Continue Reading SBA Issues “Day One” Memo – with a Particular Emphasis on Rooting out Fraud
DOJ Settles PPP Case Based on Economic Necessity Certification
On December 18, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas announced a $680,000 False Claims Act (FCA) settlement with Lafayette RE Management LLC (Lafayette) in connection with the real estate investment firm’s receipt of a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan at the height of the pandemic. Crowell has previously reported on DOJ’s steady pursuit of PPP cases which have resulted in FCA settlements based on issues such as affiliation (discussed here) and ineligibility under the program’s rules (discussed here), but the Lafayette settlement is the first time that the government has intervened in a case based on the economic necessity certification that all PPP borrowers had to make on the initial loan application. Continue Reading DOJ Settles PPP Case Based on Economic Necessity Certification