The Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) have been around since 1985, and on September 15, 2021, we are celebrating National PTAC Day. PTACs were created to increase the number of businesses of all sizes, large and small, that work with …

The DoD issued a federal register notice [ https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/2021-19352/barriers-facing-small-businesses-in-contracting-with-the-department-of-defense ] requesting comments and information from small businesses that are part of the defense supply chain or are interested in becoming a part of it as well as comments on barriers …

The Alaska Manufacturing Extension Partnership has teamed up again with the University of Alaska Anchorage College of Engineering to offer free assistance to manufacturers for 3-6 weeks. This opportunity is available to a limited number of local manufacturers. If you …

The Small Business Administration (SBA) has once again updated its HUBZone FAQs—this time with welcome changes for HUBZone firms with principal offices located in Redesignated Areas and / or Qualified Disaster Areas (QDA). The latest FAQs, available here, state that they …

On July 28, the Biden Administration issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that makes changes to the implementation of the Buy American Act. In January, President Biden signed the Executive Order (EO) 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All …

The changes that have been made regarding Filed Permanent Regulations: Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development relate mainly to handymen, specialty and mechanical contractors in the industry.  Many of the changes are general language clean up.  However, surety bond …

On July 21, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it is seeking public comment on a proposed rule which would require federal contractors to pay a $15.00 per hour minimum wage by January 30, 2022. The rule would implement President …

Government contracting officials receive detailed training on the FAR. So do employees of some large contractors. But for many others in government contracting, particularly small businesses, there is no formal FAR training. For them, the FAR can seem overwhelming, even …

On July 9, 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) published a Final Rule to require contractors to report data in the System for Award Management (SAM) on an annual basis when they are awarded a DoD contract or task order that: …

On June 21, President Biden marked the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre by announcing the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to increase small disadvantaged business (SDB) contracting goals by fifty percent. The White House also released new information regarding President …

The accrediting body overseeing the Defense Department’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program announced June 9 that RedSpin has met requirements for Certified Third-Party Assessment Organizations and passed the CMMC Level 3 assessment administered by the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Assessment Center. With …

Thank you to those who participated in the DoD Alaska-wide Industry Event! As mentioned during the event, here is the recording of the two-morning event. The event recording is broken into four parts: Day 1, Part 1 & 2 and …

SAM.gov migrated into beta.SAM.gov on May 24, 2021. For more information on the migration, please access the General Services Administration Interact resources below. What’s Changing at SAM Integration with SAM.gov Data? What’s Changing at SAM Integration – Service Contract Reporting / …

The long wait for those who want to be certified assessors for the Department of Defense‘s new contractor cybersecurity standards might be over this summer, according to the CEO of the organization overseeing training. In a public letter and attached FAQ signed by …

Beginning January 30, 2022, all prime contractors and subcontractors doing work on a government contract will be required to pay workers at least $15 per hour, based on a recent executive order. The executive order does not stop there, beginning …

The 673rd Contracting Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) is hosting the first annual Alaska-Wide Department of Defense (DoD) Virtual Industry Event.  This year’s theme is Partnering for a Successful Future.  This event is the first of its kind as …

If you’re setting up your first joint venture under the SBA’s rules, you may be tempted to download the SBA’s template joint venture agreement and use it as-is. But, as of the date of this post, the SBA’s template joint venture agreement …

The final Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) rule that will require all contractors to have third-party inspections of their networks prior to working with the Department of Defense will get its final tweaks within the next 30-40 days, the program’s lead …

The General Services Administration (GSA), Federal Acquisition Service (FAS), Office of General Supplies and Services (GSS) and Central Office Acquisition Division’s seeking information related to how interested contractors could provide the following item(s): Level 1 Surgical Masks Nitrile Examination Gloves …

A law passed by Congress at the end of 2020 seeks to expand contracting opportunities under the Buy Indian Act (Act). Through the Indian Community Economic Enhancement Act of 2020, Congress amended the Act to expand the scope of the …