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The Gift that Keeps on Giving: FAR Council Attempts to Reduce Burden of Representation Requirement for Covered Telecommunication Offerings

Client Alert | 1 min read | 12.16.19

Following an August 2019 interim rule that implemented a ban on government procurement of any equipment, system, or service that uses covered telecommunications equipment or services (CTES) from certain Chinese companies including Huawei and ZTE, effective December 13, 2019, the FAR Council issued a second interim rule authorizing companies to annually represent whether they provide CTES to the Government in the System for Award Management (SAM) registration. This new provision at FAR 52.204-26 would allow offerors to avoid the offer-by-offer representation requirement in FAR 52.204-24 (currently required under the first interim rule).

FAR 52.204-26 applies to all acquisitions, including simplified and commercial item acquisitions, and requires companies to review SAM and validate whether any products or services originate from CTES prior to completing their required representations. To facilitate compliance, the Government will update SAM to list the Chinese companies that provide CTES and annotate where prohibitions are limited to select products and services instead of the entire company.

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Client Alert | 4 min read | 08.29.25

Gender-Affirming Care Targeted for Potential False Claims Act Enforcement

On August 19, 2025, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) informed insurers participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits or Postal Service Health Benefits programs that gender-affirming care would no longer be covered for federal workers starting in 2026. This coverage decision is the Trump Administration’s latest action stemming from Executive Order 14187 which aims to prevent certain treatments, such as gender-affirming hormone therapy, surgeries, and puberty blockers for those under the age of 19. As previously discussed, the Administration has also signaled its intent to use various law enforcement tools against gender-affirming care, including  Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act to police false or unsupported claims by medical professionals about gender-affirming treatments....