On August 14, 2025, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (FAR Council) issued draft revisions to FAR Part 8 and FAR Part 12 (as well as to FAR Parts 4 and 40). These are the latest rewrites under the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) initiative pursuant to Executive Order 14275, “Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement,” which we previously reported on here.Continue Reading FAR Council Issues Rewrites to FAR Parts 8 and 12
Grant Slam: New Executive Order Serves Up Changes for Federal Grants
On August 7, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled, “Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking,” setting out the framework for sweeping changes to the grantmaking process. The order purports to address the Administration’s concerns about federal grants supporting controversial or ineffective programs and incurring excessive administrative costs. The EO implements three key changes to federal grant requirements. Continue Reading Grant Slam: New Executive Order Serves Up Changes for Federal Grants
New Department of Education Interpretive Rule Ends Federal Education Grants for Undocumented Students
On July 11, 2025, the Department of Education issued a new interpretive rule entitled “Clarification of Federal Public Benefits under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.” The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) generally limits “eligibility for ‘federal public benefits’ to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and certain categories of qualified aliens.” The Department concluded that certain postsecondary education programs, “including adult education programs authorized under Title II of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, [and] postsecondary career and technical education programs under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006,” constitute “Federal public benefits under the PRWORA and thus are subject to PRWORA’s citizenship verification requirements.”Continue Reading New Department of Education Interpretive Rule Ends Federal Education Grants for Undocumented Students
P-R-C You Later! GSA Previews Final Transition to Transactional Data Reporting for Schedule Contract Pricing
On June 9, 2025, the General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Acquisition Service (FAS) quietly announced that Transactional Data Reporting (TDR) would be exiting “pilot” status; under Refresh 27 to the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS), TDR will be mandatory for all eligible Special Item Numbers (SINs), effective beginning in the next sales reporting quarter after each contractor accepts the modification, with remaining SINs to be added in future refreshes. Continue Reading P-R-C You Later! GSA Previews Final Transition to Transactional Data Reporting for Schedule Contract Pricing
First Round of FAR Rewrites Released
On May 2, 2025, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (“OFPP”) and the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council (“FAR Council”) issued the first round of promised FAR rewrites—to Parts 1, 34, and 52—alongside a guidance memorandum for agencies subject to the FAR, Deviation Guidance to Support the Overhaul of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR Council Deviation Guidance”). The Office of Management and Budget also released a guidance memo, Overhauling the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“OMB Guidance”), that addresses the proposed implementation roadmap for the FAR overhaul. These initial FAR revisions follow the April 15, 2025 Executive Order (“EO”), Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, which we previously reported on here.Continue Reading First Round of FAR Rewrites Released
Trump’s Government Contracts Rebrand: From “Government” Procurement to “Just-GSA” Procurements
On March 20, 2025, the White House issued Executive Order (“EO”), “Eliminating Waste and Saving Taxpayer Dollars by Consolidating Procurement,” to consolidate domestic civilian contracting for “common goods and services” within one agency—the General Services Administration (“GSA”). The EO defines “common goods and services” as those described in the Category Management system first developed as part of a previous effort, dating back to 2014, to coordinate spending across the government.Continue Reading Trump’s Government Contracts Rebrand: From “Government” Procurement to “Just-GSA” Procurements
Trump’s “Cost Efficiency Initiative” Expected to Decrease Federal Contracting, Grant, and Loan Funding
On February 26, 2025, the White House issued an Executive Order (“EO”), “Implementing the President’s ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ Cost Efficiency Initiative,” to transform federal spending on “covered” contracts, grants, and loans. The EO defines “[c]overed contracts and grants” as “discretionary spending through Federal contracts, grants, loans, and related instruments, but excludes direct assistance to individuals; expenditures related to immigration enforcement, law enforcement, the military, public safety, and the intelligence community; and other critical, acute, or emergency spending, as determined by the relevant Agency Head.”Continue Reading Trump’s “Cost Efficiency Initiative” Expected to Decrease Federal Contracting, Grant, and Loan Funding
Navigating the Trump Administration’s Pause on IIJA and IRA Funding: Key Implications for Infrastructure Stakeholders
As the United States government transitions from the Biden Administration to the Trump Administration, significant changes are already impacting infrastructure policy, with likely consequences to both planned and in-progress infrastructure projects around the country. Disruptions in funding and other policy changes are creating uncertainty for investors and stakeholders involved in infrastructure projects, particularly the potential impacts on projects funded under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, as previewed in our January 18thclient alert, “Implications of Incoming Administration Changes to Infrastructure Initiatives.”Continue Reading Navigating the Trump Administration’s Pause on IIJA and IRA Funding: Key Implications for Infrastructure Stakeholders
Putting the “AI” in Compliance—DOJ Updates its Corporate Compliance Program Guidance to Address Emerging AI Risks and Leveraging Data
On Monday, September 23, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ), released an update to its Evaluation of Corporate Compliance Programs (ECCP) guidance. The ECCP guidance was last revised in March 2023, which brought a number of significant changes, including a focus on compensation and incentive structures (e.g., clawbacks), and third party messaging applications. This 2024 update, while not as significant in scope as its predecessor, nonetheless highlights the DOJ’s focus on new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), as part of its evolving assessment of what makes a corporate compliance program truly effective, and how prosecutors should evaluate risk assessments and other management tools at the time of a corporate resolution.Continue Reading Putting the “AI” in Compliance—DOJ Updates its Corporate Compliance Program Guidance to Address Emerging AI Risks and Leveraging Data
HHS Proposes Using Procurement Policy to Push Health IT Standards
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) continues its push on health data interoperability with a proposed rule, HHS Acquisition Regulation: Acquisition of Information Technology; Standards for Health Information Technology. Specifically, HHS proposes to modify the Health and Human Service Acquisition Regulation (HHSAR) to implement an HHS-wide policy to align requirements related to the procurement of health IT with standards and implementation specifications adopted by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) or compliance with the voluntary ONC Health IT Certification Program. This proposed rule was published on August 9, 2024, just 4 days after the ONC proposed HTI-2 rule was published in the Federal Register.Continue Reading HHS Proposes Using Procurement Policy to Push Health IT Standards