SmallGovCon Week in Review: July 13-17, 2026

Posted on July 17, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! It’s hard to believe we’re already halfway through July! We hope your summer has been filled with meaningful hangouts with family and friends, vacation adventures, and a little extra time to enjoy the season. As we head into the second half of summer, we’re grateful for your continued support of SmallGovCon and look forward to sharing more tips, updates, and resources to help your contracting business thrive. Have a great weekend.

This week in federal government contracting saw articles on pausing parts of CMMC and the role of AI in federal procurement.

When Today Becomes the Next Business Day: GAO’s Strict Rules for the Timely Submission of Bid Protests to Solicitation Terms

Posted on July 17, 2026 by Jordan Akins

What time does the day end? Most people would answer that a day ends at midnight. However, a recent GAO decision highlights that, for purposes of filing a pre-award bid protest with the GAO, the business day ends at 5:30 p.m. ET when the GAO closes its doors for the day. Confusingly, this can result in a protest that was technically filed on a Friday after 5:30 p.m. ET, not actually being filed until Monday, the next business day. A recent GAO decision explores this phenomenon and clarifies filing deadlines for pre-award bid protests challenging solicitation terms, especially in the case where an offer deadline is after GAO’s close of business.

GovConFAQ: How Do I Count My Joint Venture’s Receipts When Determining My Size?

Posted on July 13, 2026 by Nicole Pottroff

Joint ventures are an increasingly common teaming structure in small business federal government contracting. They offer small businesses (and even some SBA-approved large business mentors) the opportunity to perform set-aside contracts as part of a team allowed to leverage the size and status(es) of its managing venturer. But with their growing popularity and obvious appeal amongst the small business community comes the often-asked question of how to calculate a joint venture’s receipts towards its venturers’ sizes. This GovConFAQ provides the answer.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: July 6-10, 2026

Posted on July 10, 2026 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! The 4th of July weekend was a great chance to slow down, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy some good food and fireworks (or drones, in our case). The only downside? The weather has been incredibly hot and humid but that’s typical for summer here in Kansas.

We hope you had a great week and are staying cool. Here’s what is happening in federal government contracting this week. Key stories include GSA AI proposed rules, and Congress having a lot to do this summer.

SAM Registration: Defining “Immediate Owner” and “Highest-Level Owner”

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Gregory Weber

SAM.gov is something every federal government contractor has to deal with for actions like searching solicitations and registering to be a federal contractor. As every federal contractor wanting to do business with the federal government has to register on SAM, the questionnaires on SAM must cover a wide array of different possible businesses and business structures. As much as SAM tries to make sure to cover all the possibilities, inevitably, there are some questions that could have so many answers that contractors will often have their own questions about how to answer them properly. One of the most common questions that come up from contractors during SAM registration is “what do I put for Immediate Owner on SAM?” or “what does Highest-Level Owner mean?”

Event Announcement: GovCon Roundup Live, July 15, 1:00pm EDT, Expanding VOSB and SDVOSB Opportunities & Navigating the SBA Certification Minefield

Posted on July 7, 2026 by Shane McCall

Please join me on the GovCon Roundup Live, with Carroll Bernard and Steven Koprince to discuss several important developments affecting veteran-owned small businesses in federal contracting, including

The bipartisan Contract Our Veterans Act of 2026.
Critical compliance issue for veteran-owned businesses pursuing VA set-asides: the frequently overlooked limitations on subcontracting certification requirement under VAAR 852.219-75.
Why SBA’s strict “unconditional control” rules make certification extremely difficult for franchises
Why a veteran must be listed as the company’s highest officer, such as CEO, in the governing documents
What “fatal flaws” can undermine an appeal after a certification denial

Here are the details:

Wednesday, July 15, 2026
1:00 – 2:30 PM Eastern
Free to attend

Here is the link for registration.

Happy Independence Day from SmallGovCon!

Posted on July 2, 2026 by Shane McCall

We at SmallGovCon want to wish you and yours a wonderful Independence Day. Be safe this weekend and remember what the day is all about. It is a time to remember what unites as a nation, and consider our shared values and ideals. We hope you have a chance to relax, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy the 4th! We leave you with these words from the Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence