Contractors and their federal customers can breathe a sigh of relief as Congress passed an omnibus FY’23 appropriations measure just before Christmas.  This funds all government agencies for the remainder of the fiscal year.  What does this mean for contractors now and over the next few months?  First, it will take some time for each office to get its official FY’23 spending number.  OMB will likely communicate this information to agencies during the first two weeks of February.  While some customers may move ahead on specific projects now, Read more

Contractors will have to disclose when business relationships come into conflict with awarded federal contract work, or when there is a potential for conflict, under legislation signed by President Biden before Christmas.  The new measure, the “Preventing Organizational Conflicts of Interest in Federal Acquisition Act”, or S. 3905, will result in new procurement rules designed to better identify, prevent, and manage potential conflicts of interest.  The final bill even contains a requirement for an “illustrative example” to be included in the FAR.  The example Read more

TikTok will now be banned from all federal devices as part of the FY’23 omnibus appropriations measure.  While DOD and parts of DHS had previously banned the popular app from their devices, Congress has decided that the risks associated with TikTok mandate that it be removed governmentwide, except in rare instances.  More than a dozen states have already passed similar legislation.   The primary issues are that the app’s developer has close ties to the Chinese government and collects considerable personal information on its users.  This may Read more