Policy
FAR and DFARS rulemaking, executive orders, and acquisition policy shifts — explained in plain English.
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Policy
DCAA Identifies Six More Offices for Closure as Reorganization Continues
The Defense Contract Audit Agency has identified six additional offices for closure in fiscal 2026, continuing a restructuring that already shuttered 40 suboffices and consolidated the agency into a headquarters-and-23-hub model with Land, Sea, and Air directorates.
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Policy
CBO Estimates Golden Dome Would Cost $1.2 Trillion Over 20 Years, Seven Times the Administration’s Target
A Congressional Budget Office analysis published May 12, 2026 estimated that a missile defense architecture meeting Golden Dome's objectives would cost $1.2 trillion over 20 years, with a space-based interceptor layer of 7,800 satellites accounting for roughly $730 billion of that total.
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Policy
NDAA Section 875 Puts Incumbents at Financial Risk for Filing Meritless GAO Protests
The FY2026 NDAA's Section 875 authorizes DoD to withhold up to 5 percent of contract payments from incumbents that file baseless GAO protests during a bridge contract period, with DFARS implementing regulations due by June 16, 2026.
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Policy
NDAA Section 866 Cybersecurity Harmonization Mandate Takes Effect June 1, 2026
Section 866 of the FY2026 NDAA (not FY2025) requires DoD to harmonize overlapping DFARS cybersecurity requirements by June 1, 2026, with CMMC likely serving as the consolidation anchor. Corrects the article's original wrong fiscal-year attribution and removes an unconfirmable '47 provisions' statistic.
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Policy
DOJ Civil Rights Fraud Initiative: What Federal Contractors Need to Know Beyond the IBM Settlement
The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Fraud Initiative — established March 2025 — uses the False Claims Act to pursue federal contractors that misrepresent compliance with civil rights, equal opportunity, and nondiscrimination requirements in their contracts; the IBM settlement is the first but explicitly not the last action under the initiative.
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Policy
OMB M-26-10 Requires Agencies to Publish IT Contract Spending Data and Adopt Unified Acquisition Lifecycle Reporting
Office of Management and Budget Memorandum M-26-10, issued May 5, 2026, requires all CFO Act agencies to publish quarterly IT contract spending data at the project and investment level, adopt a unified acquisition lifecycle reporting standard, and demonstrate that major IT investments are aligned with agency enterprise architecture before award.
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Policy
FAR Council Proposes First Comprehensive Suspension and Debarment Rule Modernization Since 1988
A FAR proposed rule published April 9, 2026 (FR 2026-06864) proposes the first comprehensive revision of FAR Part 9 suspension and debarment procedures since 1988, adding due process protections, clarifying the present responsibility standard, and establishing procedural timelines that have been absent from the regulatory framework for decades.
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Policy
FAR Overhaul Phase 1: 31 DFARS Class Deviations Effective February 1, 2026 Streamline Defense Contracting
The DoD FAR overhaul initiative's Phase 1 put 31 DFARS class deviations into effect on February 1, 2026, eliminating or simplifying provisions identified as duplicative, outdated, or disproportionately burdensome — the largest single-day reduction in DFARS regulatory text in the supplement's history.
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Policy
SBA 8(a) Program Racially Presumed Eligibility Eliminated — January 2026 Guidance Reshapes Sole-Source Market
Following the Supreme Court's SFFA decision and subsequent executive actions, SBA's January 22, 2026 program guidance eliminates racial presumptions of social disadvantage in the 8(a) business development program, requiring all 8(a) applicants and current participants to demonstrate individualized social disadvantage regardless of racial or ethnic background.
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Policy
GSA Proposes AI Accountability Contract Clause Requiring Contractor Transparency on AI-Generated Deliverables
The General Services Administration published a proposed rule in May 2026 adding GSAR clause 552.239-7001, which would require contractors on covered GSA contracts to disclose when deliverables or decisions include AI-generated content, identify the AI systems used, and certify that a qualified human reviewed all AI outputs before submission.
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Policy
FY 2026 NDAA Streamlines Best-Value Tradeoffs, Expands Nontraditional Contractor Incentives
Sections 1801, 1826, and 875 of the FY 2026 NDAA reform the FAR best-value tradeoff documentation requirements, expand Other Transaction Authority incentives for nontraditional contractors, and require DoD to reduce proposal page limits for orders under $25 million — changes designed to reduce barriers to competition from companies outside the traditional defense industrial base.
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Policy
FAR Rule Prohibits Federal Procurement of Semiconductors from CXMT and YMTC Beginning August 2026
A final Federal Acquisition Regulation rule effective August 1, 2026 prohibits federal agencies from procuring equipment or services containing semiconductors produced by Changxin Memory Technologies or Yangtze Memory Technologies Company, extending the existing Chinese telecom equipment ban to the semiconductor production layer.
