FAR Council Begins Rolling Back Proposed Rules
Earlier today, on June 12, 2025, the FAR Council began its roll-back of proposed rules that were issued under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Today's withdrawals were made in connection with two Trump administration initiatives aimed at reshaping federal procurement regulations.
Proposed FAR Rules Increasing Small Business Participation In Multiple-Award Contracts Are Withdrawn
Early this year, on January 15, 2025, the FAR Council published a proposed rule intended to increase small business participation in multiple-award contracts. That January 2025 Proposed Rule required agencies to increase small business opportunities in multiple-award contracts during acquisition planning and through set-asides, including with the application of the "Rule of Two" to multiple-award contract task and delivery orders. As applied to multiple-award contracts, in the absence of an applicable exception, the "Rule of Two" required an agency to set aside a task or delivery order for small businesses where there was a reasonable expectation of receiving offers from two or more small-business contract holders under the multiple-award contract that were competitive in terms of price, quality, and delivery.
In connection with the January 2025 Proposed Rule, the FAR Council simultaneously issued another proposed rule that clarified that a contracting officer’s decision to set aside or not set aside an order under a multiple-award contract is not grounds for a protest.
Today, in its Proposed Rule withdrawing the January 2025 Proposed Rule and in its Proposed Rule withdrawing the related clarifications to protest rights, the FAR Council relied on the Trump administration’s Executive Order 14148, Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders and Actions. EO 14148 rescinded an earlier Biden administration executive order, EO 14091, as well as other executive orders and presidential memoranda deemed by the Trump administration to support “diversity, equity and inclusion” and climate extremism.
Although the preamble explanations for the January 2025 Proposed Rule and the related proposed rule clarifying protest rights made no mention of EO 14091, that executive order was referred to in the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Memorandum, Re: Increasing Small Business Participation on Multiple-Award Contracts, that the January 2025 Proposed Rule intended to implement.
Proposed FAR Rule Updating SBIR/STTR Data Rights Regulations Is Withdrawn
On April 7, 2023, the FAR Council proposed to amend FAR in order to implement changes that were made to the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program Policy Directive (Policy Directive). The Policy Directive changes, adopted in April 2019, were intended to create uniformity between FAR, the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and the Policy Directive regarding SBIR and STTR data rights. The Policy Directive changes also extended the protection period for SBIR and STTR data rights to 20 years.
The April 2023 Proposed Rule, thus, attempted to incorporate the Policy Directive's extended protection period and unifying revisions into the FAR.
In a Proposed Rule issued today, however, the FAR Council withdrew the 2023 Proposed Rule stating that it would re-evaluate implementation after finalization of the "Revolutionary FAR Overhaul" initiative, which was kicked off by the Trump administration in its April 15, 2025 executive order, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement. Under that executive order and the related "Revolutionary FAR Overhaul" initiative, the FAR is required to be significantly revised so that it includes only regulations that are required by statute or that are otherwise necessary to support simplicity and usability, strengthen the efficacy of the procurement system, or protect economic or national security interests.
Consequently, any revisions conforming FAR and DFARS to the Policy Directive will now have to wait until the FAR "overhaul” is completed.
The Amadeo Law Firm will provide additional information on the "Revolutionary FAR Overhaul" initiative in upcoming articles, webinars and video blogs.
