Category Archives: Federal Governement Contracting

Trump’s Executive Order Shuts Down Federal DEI Programs: Key Steps for Federal Contractors to Improve Cost Recovery

On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed the executive order, Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing (DEI Executive Order), putting an end to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs within the federal government. Given the DEI Executive Order and the potential impact it may have on current federal contracts, PilieroMazza put together […]

Despite Trump’s orders, DBE not dead yet

The president’s move to revoke a ban on discrimination in federal contracting could have a chilling effect, but it will take an act of Congress to dismantle current programs. Programs that carve out participation goals for traditionally underrepresented workers on federal construction contracts may be under fire, but they’re not dead yet. That was the […]

Disaster recovery contractors poised to take on LA wildfire damage

Construction firms such as Jacobs, AECOM and Quanta Services could play key roles in the rebuilding efforts, according to financial services company Baird. The most recent Southern California wildfires, which have killed at least 25 people and displaced tens of thousands, will increase demand for contractors specializing in disaster recovery and electrical grid restoration in […]

Biden-Harris Administration Awards Record-Breaking $183B in Federal Contracts to Small Businesses, Marking Fourth Consecutive Year of Growth

WASHINGTON — Today,   Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small business Administration, and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 34 million small businesses, announced that small businesses received more than $183 billion in prime contracts from the federal government – 28.8% of all federal contracting dollars – in fiscal […]

DoD, SBA to pour over $2.8 billion into small businesses

The Defense Department, in partnership with the Small Business Administration, has issued licensees to the first group of investors through the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology initiative, which will pour more than $2.8 billion into innovative startups and small businesses developing technologies deemed vital to national security. The first 13 licensed funds approved under […]

CPARS Secrets – Insider Tips for Maximizing Your Performance Ratings

Ever wonder why some contractors consistently win federal contracts while others struggle to get a single award? The secret often lies in past performance; how much they and their ratings. The system that collects and houses that information is the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System, or CPARS. Ratings in this system can make or break […]

SBA Certification Portal Update

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will be upgrading how its customers apply for and manage their federal contracting certifications. What do you need to know? SBA’s certification upgrade to the Certify.sba.gov portal will start sometime this fall. Initial certification applications will not be accepted during the upgrade period. The upgraded system is expected to […]

SBA Announces Extension of Moratorium on 8(a) Eligibility Requirement

Yesterday, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced that the moratorium on the 8(a) Business Development Program’s Bona Fide Place of Business (BFPOB) requirement will be extended through Sept. 30, 2025, for small disadvantaged […]

1-Year Extension of SBA’s Federal WOSB Program Recertification

On May 30, 2024, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator issued a program update to firms participating in the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program (WOSB Program).  The announcement provided SBA certified Woman-Owned Small Businesses (WOSB) and Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Businesses (EDWOSB) an additional year of eligibility to those firms whose three-year certification […]

What DOT’s final DBE rule means for civil contractors

On April 9, the DOT issued a new final rule for its Disadvantaged Business Enterprise workforce participation plan. The program, first signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1983, sets goals to award at least 10% of DOT-funded projects to companies owned by minorities, women and other socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. The federal program […]