Contributor
Sara Draper
Policy & Regulatory Affairs Correspondent
Sara Draper covers federal acquisition policy and procurement law for GovConFeed. She spent five years as a legal and compliance analyst at a mid-tier defense contractor, supporting proposal teams and monitoring regulatory developments across the Federal Register and GAO. She holds a J.D. and a certificate in government contracts law. Her reporting focuses on bid protests, GAO and COFC decisions, compliance obligations, and the downstream effects of regulatory changes on contractors of all sizes.
Editorial tips and corrections: [email protected]
Articles by Sara Draper
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IBM Pays $17M to Settle DOJ's First DEI-Related False Claims Act Case Under Civil Rights Fraud Initiative
Enforcement · 2026-05-14
IBM agreed on April 10 to pay $17.08 million to resolve Justice Department allegations that it maintained discriminatory employment practices while certifying compliance with feder…
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Odyssey Systems Wins $49M Air Force Modification for Space Domain Awareness Advisory Services
Awards · 2026-05-14
The Air Force awarded Odyssey Systems Consulting Group a $48.9 million contract modification on May 8 to continue providing space domain awareness technical acquisition and advisor…
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Viasat's Inmarsat Government Wins $307M Sole-Source Marine Corps SATCOM Contract
Awards · 2026-05-14
Viasat's Inmarsat Government unit secured a $307 million firm-fixed-price contract on May 8 to provide the Marine Corps with enterprise commercial satellite communications through …
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DOJ's Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative: Holding Contractors Accountable for Cybersecurity Compliance
Enforcement · 2026-05-13
The DOJ's Civil Cyber Fraud Initiative uses the False Claims Act to hold contractors accountable for falsely certifying DFARS/NIST 800-171 compliance. Since its October 2021 launch…
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SBA's Social Disadvantage Narrative Requirement for 8(a) Participants: Understanding the Ultima Services Corp. Ruling and Crafting a Compelling Narrative
Policy · 2026-05-13
Following the Ultima Services Corp. v. USDA ruling, the SBA now requires 8(a) participants to submit an individual social disadvantage narrative. This guide covers what reviewers l…
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FY2026 NDAA Doubles CAS Threshold to $100M and Quadruples Certified Pricing Threshold, Effective June 30
Policy · 2026-05-12
Two major acquisition cost thresholds change for defense contractors after June 30, 2026: full Cost Accounting Standards coverage rises from $50M to $100M (Section 1806), and the c…
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DoD Proposes DFARS Rule Expanding Foreign Ownership Disclosure to 40,000 Unclassified Contractors
Policy · 2026-05-12
A proposed DFARS rule published May 7 would expand Foreign Ownership, Control, or Influence (FOCI) disclosure requirements — currently limited to classified contractors — to all de…
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Encore JV1 Wins $153M VA Contact Center Contract to Handle 1.57 Million Annual Veteran Inquiries
Awards · 2026-05-10
A joint venture of USParaLog and Government Technical Services Corp. beat out competitors for the VA Veterans Experience Office contact center staffing contract, covering 360-plus …
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Raytheon and Nightwing Pay $8.4M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Over Cybersecurity Failures on DoD Contracts
Policy · 2026-05-10
Raytheon, RTX, and the Nightwing successor entity settled DOJ False Claims Act claims over NIST SP 800-171 non-compliance on unclassified DoD contracts, paying $8.4M in the latest …
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Revolutionary FAR Overhaul Stalls at OMB as Phase 2 Rulemaking Falls Behind Schedule
Policy · 2026-05-10
Final rules under the administration's sweeping FAR rewrite have hit delays at OMB, leaving contractors navigating a patchwork of interim class deviations while the formal notice-a…
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Palantir Wins $385M VA Contract to Build National Veterans Data Analytics Platform
Awards · 2026-05-10
The Department of Veterans Affairs selected Palantir Technologies over three competitors to deploy and operate the National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics Platform, in…
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IBM Pays $17M in First False Claims Act Settlement Under DOJ's Civil Rights Fraud Initiative — DEI Hiring Practices at Issue
Policy · 2026-05-09
IBM resolved allegations that race- and sex-conscious DEI employment practices on federal contracts violated anti-discrimination requirements, marking the first settlement under DO…
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DFARS Final Rule Bars DoD From Requiring Greenhouse Gas Disclosures of Nontraditional Contractors
Policy · 2026-05-09
A May 7 DFARS final rule implementing Section 318 of the FY2024 NDAA prohibits contracting officers from requiring nontraditional defense contractors to disclose GHG emissions inve…
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White House Makes Firm-Fixed-Price Contracts the Federal Default — Non-FFP Awards Now Require Agency Head Sign-Off
Policy · 2026-05-09
An April 30 executive order mandates FFP as the government-wide contracting default, requires agency heads to approve all non-FFP awards above tiered thresholds, and launches a 90-…
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Army's $50B MAPS Professional Services Contract Faces Nine Pre-Award GAO Protests Over Evaluation Transparency
Protests · 2026-05-09
Nine firms filed GAO protests against the Army's Marketplace for the Acquisition of Professional Services, citing unanswered industry questions and ambiguous small business evaluat…
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OptumServe Wins $1.6B Defense Health Agency Contract to Replace Leidos in Military Readiness Exams
Awards · 2026-05-09
OptumServe Health Services, a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, secured the fourth-generation Remote Health Reserve Program contract, displacing Leidos' QTC Medical Services after a f…
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Trump's Fixed-Price Contracting Mandate Puts $10M Threshold on Non-FFP Awards — What Agencies and Contractors Must Do Now
Policy · 2026-05-08
The April 30 executive order directing agencies to default to firm-fixed-price contracts sets agency-head approval thresholds, a 90-day review of top non-FFP contracts, and a 120-d…
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GSA Restructures the Federal Acquisition Service Into Five Portfolios as Procurement Consolidation Drive Intensifies
Policy · 2026-05-08
GSA's Federal Acquisition Service replaced its FAS 2.0 structure with five named portfolios and a new AI-focused Transform office, with leadership explicitly tying the change to Tr…
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SBA's Expanded Administrative False Claims Act Powers Are Now in Effect — What Defense Contractors and 8(a) Firms Need to Know
Enforcement · 2026-05-08
As of May 4, 2026, SBA's new rule under the Administrative False Claims Act raises the agency's administrative enforcement ceiling from $150,000 to $1 million, adds reverse false c…
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June 30 Deadline Looms: FAR Overhaul Quintuples TINA Threshold and Doubles CAS Coverage Floor
Policy · 2026-05-07
The most consequential FAR changes in 40 years take effect June 30, 2026. Certified cost/pricing data threshold jumps from $2M to $10M; full CAS coverage threshold doubles from $50…