Procurement

GAO urges DOL to resume audits of federal contractors for disability hiring

1 min read5 days ago

The Department of Labor must restart Section 503 compliance audits and add guidance for contractors, affecting firms with $793 billion in federal contracts in 2025.

Procurement

GAO estimates Fly America Act adds up to $1.5 million to State travel costs

1 min readOctober 1, 2026

The estimate applies to all State Department air travel funded by the government, effective FY 2025 onward.

Technology

Nasdaq MRX Sets Fees for Liquid-Cooled Cabinets in Carteret Data Center

1 min readSeptember 30, 2026

Co-location customers at Nasdaq MRX's Carteret, N.J., data center will face new installation and power fees beginning in Q4 2026.

Energy

DOE Issues RFP for Up to 40 Million-Barrel SPR Exchange

1 min readSeptember 29, 2026

Oil companies can bid by Oct. 6, 2026 for the exchange that will deliver barrels in Nov-Dec 2026

Technology

Nasdaq PHLX Sets Fees for Liquid-Cooled Data Center Cabinets

1 min readSeptember 29, 2026

PHLX co-location customers will face new installation and power fees for liquid-cooled cabinets beginning in Q4 2026.

Oversight

GAO Revises Contract Procedures After $94,000 Overpayment

1 min readSeptember 25, 2026

GAO procurement staff must follow new invoice and contract-modification rules effective immediately.

Oversight

GAO urges ICE to adopt strategic plan for detention expansion

1 min readSeptember 24, 2026

ICE must develop a comprehensive detention-expansion plan by Aug. 31 2027 after GAO identified waste in warehouse purchases and other initiatives.

Oversight

FEMA Yet to Award $2 Billion in BRIC Grants, Delaying Community Projects

1 min readSeptember 24, 2026

Communities awaiting Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities subgrants face delays as FEMA has not awarded over $2 billion through March 2026.

Defense

GAO urges NNSA to formalize line-item criteria in M&O contracts

1 min readSeptember 23, 2026

GAO's report recommends the NNSA document line-item use policies, affecting its $20 billion-plus annual contracts

Oversight

State Dept urged to tighten anti-terrorism oversight for West Bank aid

1 min readSeptember 23, 2026

The State Department must finalize anti-terrorism policies for West Bank and Gaza assistance, with oversight to begin after July 2025.

Procurement

GAO urges GSA, DOD to share supply-chain data on prohibited Chinese gear

1 min readSeptember 22, 2026

All federal agencies must receive subsidiary and affiliate data from GSA and DOD beginning immediately to improve compliance with Section 889 prohibitions.

Procurement

GAO finds funding gaps hinder FASTA property disposals as Board winds down

1 min readSeptember 21, 2026

Federal agencies with FASTA-listed properties face budgeting shortfalls through Dec. 2026

Oversight

DHS Terminates 362 Grants, Deobligates $1 Billion After 2025 Executive Order

1 min readSeptember 17, 2026

The Department of Homeland Security ended 362 grants and paused funding in FY2025, affecting FEMA, USCIS and other components.

Procurement

GAO urges GSA to add outcome-based metrics to personal-property disposal scorecard

1 min readSeptember 16, 2026

The GAO's two open recommendations require the GSA to align scorecard measures with disposal goals and collect data to assess effectiveness, affecting all federal agencies using GSA's PPMS.

Economy

CDFI Fund Opens $5 B NMTC Allocation Round for CY 2026

1 min readSeptember 15, 2026

Certified CDEs must submit AMIS applications by Nov 10 2026 to compete for up to $100 M each.

Oversight

GAO urges GSA to broaden meeting-space list and boost agency awareness

1 min readSeptember 14, 2026

The General Services Administration must improve its federal meeting facilities list and notify tenant agencies, per GAO recommendations.

Oversight

FEMA funds 437 air shipments, FAA eases rules to speed PPE delivery

1 min readSeptember 14, 2026

Federal agencies accelerated PPE transport by air in March-June 2020, affecting health providers and logistics firms

Defense

President Revises Defense Production Act Delegations to Interior, Energy, Commerce

1 min readSeptember 11, 2026

The order, dated September 8 2026, expands delegated authority to the Secretaries of the Interior, Energy and Commerce and sets new dispute-resolution procedures.

Defense

Executive Order mandates faster veteran record sharing and job placement

2 min readSeptember 11, 2026

The order obligates the Secretaries of War and Veterans Affairs to share military and medical records within 180 days, accelerating benefits and employment for transitioning service members.

Energy

DOE awards $73 million for domestic mining testbeds

1 min readSeptember 9, 2026

Four universities and a private firm will receive funding to build mining technology proving grounds, effective upon award negotiations.

Elsewhere

What other outlets are reporting on this beat. We link out; we do not republish.

GSA removes 244 Chinese products from procurement list
SEAN GLADWELL/Getty Images By Christian Robles | October 9, 2026 04:29 PM ET The agency is seeking to fulfill ‘truthful advertising’ and fraud-busting executive orders signed by President Donald Trump. GSA Contracts International The General Services Administration recently removed 244 Chinese products from a government procurement list in a “first wave of action, with more to come in the future,” according to a GSA official familiar with the matter.The move comes after the GSA called for an audit of AbilityOne, a mandatory procurement list designed to create jobs for people with disabilities. GSA specifically asked the U.S. AbilityOne Commission to verify country-of-origin claims on the list after it found Chinese products such as flash drives, docking ports and portable charging packs contained within it. GSA gave the commission a Nov. 12 deadline to ensure all products are listed with the correct country-of-origin and documentation on how it plans to complete continuous reviews.“GSA intends to remove all of AbilityOne’s Chinese product offerings from its catalogues. While each product’s time on the market varies, many have been present for 10-15 years,” the GSA official told Nextgov/FCW.Under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act, agencies must source AbilityOne products before turning to those from other companies.“Because GSA controls government-wide buying platforms, removal of Chinese products from our catalogues will help every agency phase these products out,” the official said. That official could not speak to whether or how agencies are planning to remove Chinese products. They also did not disclose a list of the 244 Chinese products.Fox News first reported that GSA had banned the federal purchase of around 240 Chinese products.GSA’s crackdown on Chinese products seeks to address the “truthful advertising” and fraud-busting executive orders signed by President Donald Trump in March, according to the agency.
Nextgov 2 days ago
SpaceX: Grain's lowband spectrum is our ticket to becoming 'major mobile carrier'
(Source: Walter Cicchetti/Getty Images)SpaceX's plan to build a hybrid satellite-terrestrial wireless network took additional shape Thursday (October 8) with its proposed deal to acquire 100% of Grain Management's portfolio of 800MHz spectrum. That'll give SpaceX up to 14MHz of paired spectrum in the 800MHz band.Financial terms were not disclosed, though the Wall Street Journal reports that SpaceX will be paying $8 billion in cash. But the transaction, which requires FCC approval, is poised to provide SpaceX with critical lowband, long-range spectrum that can penetrate walls and rooftops, effectively filling a big gap in its spectrum holdings and its ambition to reach customers via satellite and terrestrial networks. SpaceX's ability to someday roll out a terrestrial network, particularly in the lowband, has been a major question amid the reluctance of AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile to sign SpaceX/Starlink to an MVNO deal.Stocks for the Big Three dropped in the wake of Thursday's announcement. In Friday morning trading, AT&T was down 6.44%, T-Mobile shares were down nearly 10%, and Verizon shares had dropped 5.7%.Related:SpaceX might build and buy its way to a terrestrial wireless network – reportBut the potential of a terrestrial, lowband buildout from SpaceX was a boon for the tower stocks, with SBA Communications shares up 7.19% at last check Friday, with American Tower up 8.46% and Crown Castle up a healthy 14.76%.Are the spectrum stars aligning for SpaceX?Grain Management acquired the 800MHz portfolio from T-Mobile in August 2026 in exchange for $2.9 billion in cash and Grain's 600MHz spectrum, which provided T-Mobile with a way to reinforce the reach of its 5G signals in parts of the US.Roger Entner, analyst and founder of Recon Analytics, predicted several weeks ago that it made sense for Grain's 800MHz portfolio to go to SpaceX: "Grain is not a terminal buyer for the 800MHz it acquired from @TMobile. In my view, it ends up with @Starlink as the foundation of a t
Light Reading 2 days ago
GSA still has problems with location data for federal properties, watchdog finds
GSA staffing cuts since 2025 have exacerbated those problems, the report added. STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images The General Services Administration is still not meeting the Geospatial Data Act of 2018’s requirement to maintain geospatial data, an Office of Inspector General report published Monday found. Previous 2024 and 2022 OIG audits also found that GSA was not fully compliant with the federal law.GSA has two publicly available geospatial datasets — the Inventory of Owned and Leased Properties Dataset and the Federal Real Property Profile Dataset — that contain inaccurate or missing latitude and longitude coordinates, the OIG found. The watchdog noted that about 78,624 — or 26% — of properties in the FRPP dataset with coordinates lacked distinct ones and “numerous properties” in that dataset contained erroneous coordinates. The finding echoes a June 2026 Government Accountability Office report that determined about 20% of buildings in the FRPP had coordinates that did not match their reported zip codes.The OIG found that 634, or about 7%, of the GSA-controlled properties listed in the IOLP-buildings dataset lacked distinct coordinates. Approximately 20% of the IOLP-buildings dataset’s real property assets contained outdated and incorrect congressional representative data.“GSA should identify cost-effective measures to improve the accuracy and usefulness of the latitude and longitude coordinates in the IOLP and FRPP datasets based on each property’s physical location,” the OIG wrote.GSA did not maintain its geospatial data inventory for two years until it responded to OIG’s audit, according to the report. The updated inventory showed a roughly 22% increase in geospatial data assets compared to the 2024 inventory. The OIG found that the agency did not maintain an updated inventory because it does not have a documented process listed in materials like the GEOSPATIAL DATA Standard Operating Procedure — or SOP — and Standards Guide.“GSA should update its geospatial dat
Government Executive 5 days ago
GSA memo to set AI-specific acquisition rules
J. David Ake/Getty Images The General Services Administration is adjusting its acquisition regulation to include language aimed at protecting government data that contractors process in large language models.Buried on page 129 of an agency memo signed by GSA Senior Procurement Executive Jeffrey Koses is a section titled “Basic Safeguarding of Data within Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence Systems.” The section details what data protections contractors and subcontractors must include when their LLMs process government data.For example, the rules state contractors cannot use government data to train LLMs, inform advertising or sell to a third party. Contractors must also implement data handling procedures, including encrypted data transmission and audit logging systems. The memo clarifies the language does not apply to LLMs that contractors use internally for business purposes or products where the LLM functionality is “incidental to” its primary purpose. The memo is originally from January, but states GSA signed off on the section with the LLM acquisition language in July and that it takes effect on Oct. 19.GSA had sought to enact a similar draft LLM acquisition rule through a public comment period but ran into intense pushback from industry groups even after a round of modifications. Several stakeholders welcomed the memo’s take on LLM acquisition safeguards."GSA’s final AI terms and conditions mark a significant improvement from prior draft versions, and establishes a stronger foundation for safeguarding government data in AI systems,” Quinn Anex-Ries, a senior policy analyst at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in a Thursday statement.Anex-Ries praised the rule for “almost entirely” removing language requiring contractors to adhere to “unbiased AI principles.” That language was one of the most controversial provisions of GSA’s draft rule, with some industry groups warning the agency there’s no clear way to test for compliance.“The AI clause
Government Executive October 2, 2026
GSA is losing a key digital modernization leader
GSA Deputy Administrator Mike Lynch speaks at GovExec’s Government Efficiency Summit on July 16, 2026. Zaid Hamid/Nextgov/FCW Michael Lynch, deputy administrator for the General Services Administration, will be leaving his role and returning to the private sector, according to an email sent to staff Wednesday morning by GSA Administrator Ed Forst. “Mike has been a part of the Administration since January 20, 2025, and I want to thank him for his service to the agency and the American people,” Forst wrote in the email. “During this time, Mike has led initiatives to advance our strategic priorities, strengthen oversight of internal operations, and support effective delivery of our mission. Mike has also helped accelerate GSA’s efforts to increase technology adoption across the agency and the federal government, supporting our customers, workforce and efforts to streamline how we operate.”GSA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Lynch’s departure date is unclear.Prior to his government service, Lynch was the chief executive officer at UK-based medical technology firm Zedsen. After joining GSA, he quickly became the public face of the agency’s increased role in AI and technology adoption and driving efficiencies across the federal government.Lynch championed GSA’s OneGov program, through which GSA negotiated substantial discounts on artificial intelligence and other software on behalf of the entire federal government, with accumulated savings to agencies now exceeding $1.62 billion. Several of those discounts have been extended in recent weeks, including deals with Google, OpenAI and Anthropic.Meanwhile, more than two dozen agencies are using GSA’s USAi platform to access commercial models produced by frontier AI firms.Within GSA, Lynch led the execution against two core efforts that are now making a dent in challenges faced by other agencies. In early 2026, the agency launched a “million hours challenge” to save and automate one million hours of worklo
Government Executive September 30, 2026
GSA claims it found $1.2B in suspected COVID-related contracting fraud
J. David Ake/Getty Images The Trump administration claims it found more than $1.2 billion in suspected fraud and stopped $41 million more across five COVID-related contracts, according to a Wednesday press release from the General Services Administration.GSA said although the COVID-19 national emergency and related acquisition flexibilities were cancelled in 2023, unnamed federal contractors continued to receive funding. The alleged fraud was uncovered in collaboration with the Health and Human Services Department and under the direction of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.“The COVID emergency ended over three years ago, yet fraudsters continue to weaponize outdated emergency contracts to abuse taxpayer dollars,” GSA Administrator Edward Forst said in the release. “GSA will continue to work with the Vice President’s task force to stop improper payments, refer suspected fraud to law enforcement, and fight to recover every dollar.”GSA estimates that about 93% of the contract funding — which would have been distributed for COVID vaccines and other pandemic-related services — has not yet been distributed to vendors, while roughly 6.78% has already been expended, according to a Fox News exclusive attached to the release. The agency has suspended payments to contractors, although the uncovered funding is not currently tied to criminal charges for contractors, the outlet reported.“We're not after the honest contractors who did real pandemic work — we're after the leftover contracts hiding behind a crisis that no longer exists. The emergency is over. So is the free pass,” said Scott Brady, executive director of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, in the GSA press release.The alleged COVID-related contracting fraud comes roughly a month after GSA said it found $13 billion in suspected procurement-related fraud since March 2026. At the time, an expert told Nextgov/FCW the alleged procurement-related fraud is a “trust but verify situation” and cautioned
Government Executive September 24, 2026
GSA claims it found $1.2B in suspected COVID-related contracting fraud
J. David Ake/Getty Images By Christian Robles | September 24, 2026 02:34 PM ET The agency previously said it found $13 billion in suspected procurement-related fraud and is investigating other sources of potential fraud. GSA COVID 19 The Trump administration claims it found more than $1.2 billion in suspected fraud and stopped $41 million more across five COVID-related contracts, according to a Wednesday press release from the General Services Administration.GSA said although the COVID-19 national emergency and related acquisition flexibilities were cancelled in 2023, unnamed federal contractors continued to receive funding. The alleged fraud was uncovered in collaboration with the Health and Human Services Department and under the direction of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.“The COVID emergency ended over three years ago, yet fraudsters continue to weaponize outdated emergency contracts to abuse taxpayer dollars,” GSA Administrator Edward Forst said in the release. “GSA will continue to work with the Vice President’s task force to stop improper payments, refer suspected fraud to law enforcement, and fight to recover every dollar.”GSA estimates that about 93% of the contract funding — which would have been distributed for COVID vaccines and other pandemic-related services — has not yet been distributed to vendors, while roughly 6.78% has already been expended, according to a Fox News exclusive attached to the release. The agency has suspended payments to contractors, although the uncovered funding is not currently tied to criminal charges for contractors, the outlet reported.“We're not after the honest contractors who did real pandemic work — we're after the leftover contracts hiding behind a crisis that no longer exists. The emergency is over. So is the free pass,” said Scott Brady, executive director of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, in the GSA press release.The alleged COVID-related contracting fraud comes roughly a month after GSA
Nextgov September 24, 2026
Login.gov is now accepting mobile driver’s licenses
Teera Konakan/Getty Images Login.gov began widely accepting mobile driver’s licenses for digital identity verification services last month, providing protections against artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes and counterfeit identity documents, the General Services Administration announced Tuesday. Users of the federal government’s identity verification platform can use an eligible mobile driver’s license from a digital wallet on their smartphone to share information required for identity proofing, according to the agency. Login.gov currently supports mobile driver’s licenses stored in Google Wallet and Samsung Wallet but is in the process of adding support for other sources, GSA said.The agency said the platform's implementation “is narrowly scoped to identity proofing for access to government services and gives users an additional, rather than mandatory, option.”“The new process grants users greater control over their privacy, as they can preview and share only the specific attributes required for verification rather than their entire document,” GSA added.Mobile driver’s licenses use cryptographic verification to confirm that a digital credential is valid and not altered. As of March 2026, 20 states and one territory offer mobile driver’s licenses, making them available to approximately 71.5 million drivers.Agency officials previously said they planned to add mobile driver’s licenses to Login.gov by March of this year.GSA said the new feature builds on a recent Office of Management and Budget directive mandating agencies to use Login.gov and other efforts to boost use of the service, such as lower pricing.
Government Executive September 22, 2026

Newsletter

What the federal government did today, and what it changes - with the document behind every item.

President Trump Declares October 2026 National Energy Dominance Month

Federal Reserve Opens Comment Period on Gullace Trust's Bank Share Acquisition

WaFd seeks Fed approval to acquire EverBank Financial Corp

Cboe EDGA Files Immediate Rule Change to Create Data Vendor Program

Procurement

GAO urges DOL to resume audits of federal contractors for disability hiring

GAO estimates Fly America Act adds up to $1.5 million to State travel costs

Nasdaq MRX Sets Fees for Liquid-Cooled Cabinets in Carteret Data Center

DOE Issues RFP for Up to 40 Million-Barrel SPR Exchange

Nasdaq PHLX Sets Fees for Liquid-Cooled Data Center Cabinets

GAO Revises Contract Procedures After $94,000 Overpayment

GAO urges ICE to adopt strategic plan for detention expansion

FEMA Yet to Award $2 Billion in BRIC Grants, Delaying Community Projects

GAO urges NNSA to formalize line-item criteria in M&O contracts

State Dept urged to tighten anti-terrorism oversight for West Bank aid

GAO urges GSA, DOD to share supply-chain data on prohibited Chinese gear

GAO finds funding gaps hinder FASTA property disposals as Board winds down

DHS Terminates 362 Grants, Deobligates $1 Billion After 2025 Executive Order

GAO urges GSA to add outcome-based metrics to personal-property disposal scorecard

CDFI Fund Opens $5 B NMTC Allocation Round for CY 2026

GAO urges GSA to broaden meeting-space list and boost agency awareness

FEMA funds 437 air shipments, FAA eases rules to speed PPE delivery

President Revises Defense Production Act Delegations to Interior, Energy, Commerce

Executive Order mandates faster veteran record sharing and job placement

DOE awards $73 million for domestic mining testbeds