By: Andrew Swick The federal government has decided quantum computing is a key priority moving forward. On June 22, 2026, President Trump signed Executive Order 14413, “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation”, a whole-of-government directive to accelerate the deployment and commercialization of quantum computing, sensing, and networking. The order builds on the 2018 National...
By: Margaret M. Cassidy & Jelena Tasic On April 30, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order Promoting Efficiency, Accountability, and Performance in Federal Contracting directing federal agencies to use “best business practices to protect taxpayer dollars, hold contractors accountable, and achieve demonstrable returns on investment.” How? By using firm-fixed price contracts that define outcomes...
By: Margaret M. Cassidy & Andrew Swick The first stage of the FY2027 Appropriations process has essentially wrapped, with congressional member’s offices now processing request submissions from constituents and stakeholders before moving them to subcommittee staff for bill drafting and markup. Coming out of this, it is helpful to reflect on some key takeaways and...
By: Margaret M. Cassidy & Andrew Swick The Anthropic-Department of Defense (DoD) conflict raises compelling legal and policy issues, but these debates don’t help a business make payroll. [Click here for The Defense Salon article with detailed background on this conflict and here for an update on the court cases.] For federal government contractors, businesses...
By: Margaret M. Cassidy & Jelena Tasic Background The Anthropic-Department of Defense (DoD) battle started earlier this year when, over social media, DoD designated Anthropic a “supply chain risk” and along with the White House restricted the use of Anthropic products, particularly its Claude AI models, initially across the whole federal government. DoD and the...
Before a business can pursue federal government contracts it must register in SAM. Here are the basics on what that means and where founders and PE-backed businesses get tripped up. Register in SAM.gov — It’s Free SAM, the System for Award Management is the federal government’s vendor management database and every entity pursuing a prime...
Who Am I? A philosophical question that people have asked themselves for centuries is, “Who am I?” A big question that arguably we spend our lives trying to answer but never really get there. A question that is closely related to “Who am I” that you may be asking of your business is, “Am I...
Businesses new to federal government contracting understand that the government requires some type of background check on its leaders or others in the business. Beyond that, their understanding gets a bit murky. As a result, those new to federal government contracting worry about what will bubble up during the required background check. There is reason...
By: Margaret M. Cassidy & Andrew Swick Part 2 of our FY26 NDAA reviews shifts from industrial base investment to changes the Department of Defense’s (DoD) acquisition process, organized into five subcategories: When Cost Accounting Standards (CAS) Apply Truth in Negotiations Act (TINA) Threshold Changes Compliance Exemptions for Nontraditional Defense Contractors Encouraging Commercial Purchases Cybersecurity...
The SBA announced yesterday in a news release that it has suspended “over 1,000 contractors” from participating in the 8(a) Program because they did not turn in the documents the SBA demanded that the produce by the deadline of January 19, 2025. This announcement, is actually buried in the news release so too find this...
