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GAO And SBA Disagree on Effect of Noncompliance With Subcontracting Limitation

Client Alert | 1 min read | 04.10.07

In TYBRIN Corp. (Mar. 13, 2007, http://www.gao.gov/decisions/bidpro/2983646.pdf), GAO sustained a protest of the Air Force's reinstatement of a contract award despite the Air Force's reliance on and compliance with the SBA's responsibility determination in favor of the awardee (which was based on the SBA's finding that the awardee, despite having not committed to do so in its proposal, would in fact comply with the RFP's limitation on the extent of subcontracting to large businesses). Despite the SBA's conclusion to the contrary, and the Air Force's reliance on that conclusion, GAO held that where an offeror's proposal fails to comply with a material terms of the solicitation (in this case, the limitation on subcontracting clause as set forth in FAR 52.219-14), the matter is one of the proposal's acceptability or responsiveness (which is reviewable by GAO) rather than the offeror's responsibility (which is solely within the purview of the SBA, if it involves a small business).

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 06.25.26

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On June 22, 2026, President Trump signed two executive orders, “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks” (Quantum Security EO) and “Ushering in the Next Frontier of Quantum Innovation” (Quantum Innovation EO), marking the most significant federal action on quantum technology since the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act of 2022, which directed agencies to harden their information systems against quantum-enabled hacking. The orders seek to speed the development of quantum computers, which are advanced processors that can calculate multiple possibilities simultaneously and thus solve problems exponentially faster than traditional computers. At the same time, the orders look to protect against the danger that quantum technology can “break” traditional encryption by easily decoding it. Of particular note for government contractors, the Quantum Security EO directs agencies to update federal acquisition regulations to require contractors by 2031 to adopt information processing standards that resist quantum-enabled codebreaking....

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