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Unduly Restrictive Specification Requires Redo

Client Alert | less than 1 min read | 03.24.15

In Smith and Nephew Inc. (Jan. 2, 2015), publicly released this week, GAO sustained a pre-award solicitation protest alleging that the VA had unduly restricted competition with an unnecessary specification requirement. GAO concluded that the "minimum fluid absorption rate" for medical bandages demanded by the VA was not based on any demonstrable agency need, was predicated on one repudiated test study by a single contractor, and could not be met by any commercially available product in the marketplace.

Insights

Client Alert | 5 min read | 03.30.26

Déjà Vu? New Executive Order Outlines Restrictions on Contractor and Subcontractor DEI Activity

On March 26, 2026, President Trump issued an executive order (EO) titled Addressing DEI Discrimination by Federal Contractors. The EO declares diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) “activities” “unethical and often illegal,” and imposes new obligations on federal contractors and subcontractors related to DEI programming. Contractors that do business with the federal government — or that work as subcontractors for companies that do — should review the EO closely to determine the extent to which they are compliant with the new requirements....