All articles
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Rules
OMB M-25-22 reshapes federal AI procurement — effective for solicitations after September 30, 2025
The Trump administration's OMB memorandum on federal AI procurement applies to any AI solicitation issued after September 30, 2025. Three big themes: a competitive American AI marketplace, taxpayer-dollar safeguards via AI performance tracking, and cross-functional procurement engagement.
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Policy
Federal workforce down 271,000 in 2025 — and contractors are absorbing the displaced work
The federal civilian workforce declined by 249,000-271,000 (9%) between January and November 2025 — the largest peacetime reduction on record. RIF moratorium expired January 30; implementation plans due April 14. Contractors absorb workload by default.
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Awards
VA restarts Oracle EHR rollout at 4 Michigan sites — 9 more in 2026, $37B lifetime cost
After a three-year pause, the VA resumed its Oracle-Cerner electronic health record deployment in April 2026, starting with four Michigan health care systems. 9 additional sites scheduled for 2026 — total 13 live by year-end. Lifetime cost now estimated at $37B.
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Policy
Trump's March 13 Made-in-America EO — FTC enforcement + contract-level origin verification
The March 13, 2026 executive order directs the FTC to prioritize enforcement against false 'Made in America' claims and requires federal agencies to verify Made-in-USA and Buy American Act claims at the contract level. Online marketplace verification rule forthcoming.
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Policy
Trump's January 7 Warfighter EO — stock-buyback ban for 'underperforming' defense primes
The January 7, 2026 EO 'Prioritizing the Warfighter in Defense Contracting' directs DoW to identify underperforming primes, prohibit their stock buybacks and dividends until performance issues cure, and link future executive compensation to performance metrics.
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Opportunities
OASIS+ Phase II goes live — rolling open season for the $60B services GWAC
GSA launched OASIS+ Phase II on January 12, 2026 — a continuously-open on-ramp solicitation model for the $60B services GWAC. 1,300+ small businesses already on the vehicle. No more 5-year wait between onramps.
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Opportunities
DHS kills EAGLE II — next-gen IT buying flows through GSA and NIH vehicles
DHS won't recompete the $22 billion EAGLE II IT contract. Instead, EAGLE Next Gen routes IT procurement through GSA's Alliant 2, Alliant 2 SB, 8(a) STARS II, VETS 2, plus NIH's CIO-SP3. Small-business commitment continues.
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Awards
VA's $60B T4NG2 cleared to launch — court denies all remaining protests, 33 vendors authorized
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims denied all remaining protests of the VA's $60 billion Transformation Twenty-One Total Technology Next Generation 2 (T4NG2) IDIQ in April 2026. 33 authorized vendors; primary VA IT-services vehicle for the next decade.
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Policy
SBA suspends 1,000+ firms, terminates 800+ in 8(a) program — and shifts to race-neutral review
A cascade of enforcement actions in Q1 2026: over 1,000 8(a) firms suspended, 800+ in termination proceedings, and formal guidance that 8(a) eligibility is now evaluated on individualized social-disadvantage evidence, not group membership. New-firm admissions dropped from ~525/year to 65 in 2025. What current participants actually need to do.
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Opportunities
OTAs hit $18B/year — and the FY26 NDAA opens them up further
Other Transaction Authority agreements grew from $1.8B in FY16 to over $18B in FY24. The FY26 NDAA expands Commercial Solutions Openings to all commercial products and services, and eliminates the written-determination requirement above $10M. A real non-FAR path for firms that find FAR procurement impossible.
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Awards
VA's $700B Community Care Network rebuild — the largest federal services contract ever contemplated
The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing Community Care Network Next Generation — a single IDIQ with a 10-year potential value of $700 billion. Existing CCN contracts expire in 2026. The competition pits a handful of payer-capable firms against each other for what would be one of the largest services awards in government history.
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Awards
VA awards $14B IHT 2.0 to 9 SDVOSB primes — a rare big-ticket set-aside in healthcare services
The VA's $14 billion Integrated Healthcare Transformation 2.0 IDIQ is a ten-year multiple-award set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. Nine awardees now share the vehicle — unusually strong SDVOSB representation at this contract scale.
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