This episode addresses efforts by various federal government agencies to audit and investigate purported ‘waste, fraud, and abuse’ in small business set-aside awards, and is hosted by Yuan Zhou, Olivia Lynch and Zach Schroeder. Crowell & Moring’s “Fastest 5 Minutes” is a biweekly podcast that provides a brief summary of significant government contracts legal and regulatory
DoW’s Previously Announced 8(a) Audit Expanded to Include All Small Business Set-Aside Awards over $20 Million
As we previously reported, on January 16, 2026, the Department of War (DoW) announced an audit of 8(a) sole source awards over $20 million, joining the previously-announced audits by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and U.S. Treasury Department (discussed here and here). A DoW memorandum also dated January 16, 2026 but only recently made public reveals that this audit is much broader in than originally announced. Any active 8(a) sole source contract, 8(a) set-aside contract, or small business set-aside contract over $20 million is under scrutiny.
Continue Reading DoW’s Previously Announced 8(a) Audit Expanded to Include All Small Business Set-Aside Awards over $20 Million8(a) Participants – and the 8(a) Program – Under the Microscope or on the Chopping Block
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has rolled out changes to its 8(a) Program even as it suspends 8(a) participants for failure to respond to the SBA’s December 5, 2025 8(a) audit letters.
Continue Reading 8(a) Participants – and the 8(a) Program – Under the Microscope or on the Chopping BlockDoW Joins SBA’s Fight Against Alleged Pass-Through Fraud in the 8(a) Program
- First, the DoW will prioritize “a line-by-line
The FY 2026 National Defense Authorization Act
On December 18, 2025, the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (FY 2026 NDAA) (P.L. 119-60) was signed into law. The Act makes significant changes to defense acquisition, sourcing restrictions, and interactions between the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and the Department of Defense (DOD).
Continue Reading The FY 2026 National Defense Authorization ActSBA Office of General Counsel Audit of Participants in the 8(a) Program and Beyond
On December 5, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) sent letters to 4,300 current and recent participants in the 8(a) Business Development Program requiring production by January 5, 2026, of financial records, contracting and subcontracting agreements, and employee records. Below we discuss the genesis of the U.S. Government’s focus on fraud in small business programs, the new SBA request for documents, the coming Treasury audit of preference-based contracts, and more.
Continue Reading SBA Office of General Counsel Audit of Participants in the 8(a) Program and BeyondSBA’s OHA Further Defines Extraordinary Action in SDVOSB Appeal
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 AppealSBA Proposes Increases to Small Business Receipts-Based Size Standards to Promote More Competition for Small Business Set-Aside Contracts
On August 22, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule that would raise the receipts-based small business size standards across 259 industries and the asset-based size standard across 4 industries. The proposed rule aims to provide greater opportunity for growing small businesses to retain their small business status longer and continue to benefit from SBA loan programs and federal contracting opportunities reserved for small businesses.
Continue Reading SBA Proposes Increases to Small Business Receipts-Based Size Standards to Promote More Competition for Small Business Set-Aside ContractsCourt of Federal Claims Recognizes Additional Potential Recovery Opportunities under Energy Savings Performance Contracts
Earlier this year, we highlighted a notable Court of Federal Claims (CFC) decision recognizing that an energy savings performance contract (ESPC) contractor may be able to recover proposal preparation costs under the CFC’s bid protest jurisdiction. Now, in Siemens Government Technologies, Inc. v. United States, another CFC decision has reaches a similar conclusion and goes even further — also highlighting the potential to recover under the Court’s Contract Disputes Act (CDA) jurisdiction.
Continue Reading Court of Federal Claims Recognizes Additional Potential Recovery Opportunities under Energy Savings Performance ContractsGAO 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