GSA Hosting FAST 2026 Virtual Acquisition Summit
GSA invites industry to register for the FAST GSA 2026 Virtual Acquisition Summit for Industry. FAST 2026 is a virtual event focused on strengthening partnerships between GSA and industry through expert insights, education, and direct engagement with acquisition leaders.
Date: June 16, 2026
Time: 9 a.m.–Noon ET and 1 p.m.–4 p.m. ET
CLPs: Not offered for this event
As the federal acquisition environment continues to change, this event will help industry partners stay informed, adapt to new requirements, and strengthen their position in the federal marketplace.
The FAST GSA 2026 Virtual Acquisition Summit offers a prime opportunity to:
- Gain expert insights into major Administration initiatives, including the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, Procurement Consolidation, and Multiple Award Schedule reform.
- Strengthen your understanding of evolving GSA and FAS acquisition processes, policies, and procedures.
- Participate in interactive discussions and Q&A sessions with GSA experts.
- Learn how to better align your offerings with changing government requirements and acquisition priorities.
- Build stronger, more strategic partnerships with GSA and the broader federal acquisition community.
Refresh 32 Removing Changes to Joint Ventures
GSA has announced changes to the forthcoming Refresh 32. According to GSA, proposed changes regarding Joint Ventures (JV) have been removed from the current refresh. Any updates to these requirements will be addressed in a future refresh, and GSA will provide notification well in advance of any changes. Slides and Q&A discussing this change are attached to the announcement. GSA still plans on releasing Refresh 32 by the end of June.
GSA clarified the following changes:
- Limit the substitution of customer references and relevant project experience for work performed by predecessor companies or key personnel to Startup Springboard and Fast Lane participants only.
- Clarify that previous work substitutions may apply to both PPQs and customer references.
- Add language that GSA reserves the right to request additional information to verify the legitimacy and applicability of submitted PPQs and Relevant Project Experience.
- Define the term “predecessor.”
GSA Developing AI Procurement GSAR Rule
NextGov/FCW reports that the General Services Administration (GSA) is currently drafting a General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) rule that would prioritize procuring Artificial Intelligence (AI) using a firm fixed-price model. The GSA sources that spoke with NextGov/FCW stated that GSA will assess whether any non-fixed-price contracts could be moved to a fixed price structure after the rule’s publication. The rule would also remove certain bureaucratic hurtles for commercial acquisitions, including acquisitions of commercial AI tools.
House Unveils $1.15 Trillion NDAA, Right to Repair Included
Roll Call reports that House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AK) has released an early version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2027. The so called “chairman’s mark” includes a record $1.15 trillion in funding. This falls $350 billion short of the White House’s $1.5 trillion budget request. Republicans plan to fill this gap through a reconciliation bill this year. The proposed NDAA would provide $1.1 trillion for the Department of War (DoW), $42 billion for the National Nuclear Security Administrations, and about $11 billion for programs authorized by other House panels. The NDAA focuses heavily on expanding defense industrial base production. It also greenlights a number of multiyear procurements for fighter jets, destroyers, amphibious vehicles, and other items. This version of the NDAA does include “right to repair” language that would give the DoW more access to contractors’ intellectual property. This would give the DoW the ability to fix contractor provided products on their own. The committee plans to mark up the NDAA on June 4.
VA Requests Industry Input on Expansion of AI tools within the Agency
FedScoop reports that the VA issued a request for information seeking industry input on new artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. The initiative would expand AI access across the VA workforce, enabling assistive, collaborative, and agentic AI applications to help deliver faster, higher-quality, and more cost-effective services for veterans. To ensure responsible implementation, the VA is exploring AI literacy and safety tools, along with the potential addition of AI engineers and data scientists to support the management and scaling of AI operations across the agency.
The RFI also provided an update on the VA’s current AI adoption efforts. Since launching last year, VA GPT, the agency’s in-house generative AI tool developed with Microsoft, has surpassed 95,000 users and now supports more than 5,500 daily users. The VA reported positive healthcare outcomes from AI-enabled tools, including a 22% reduction in mortality associated with an AI-assisted clinical decision support tool and a 21% increase in adenoma detection using AI-powered colonoscopy devices.
The VA continues to evaluate additional AI tools for enterprise-wide deployment and is seeking industry feedback on its plans, with responses to the RFI due June 9.
New Executive Order on AI Released
On Monday, the President released an Executive Order (EO) titled Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security. The EO establishes a voluntary framework for companies to provide new AI models to the federal government for testing before release. Under the Framework participating firms can provide the Federal government frontier models 30 days in advance and Federal testing would be subject to “confidentiality, cybersecurity, insider-risk, and intellectual-property protection, use, and nondisclosure requirements.”
The EO also tasks the Attorney General with prioritizing the enforcement of identity theft and fraud, computer fraud and abuse, wire fraud and all other applicable Federal criminal laws against anyone who utilizes AI to illegally access or damage a computer without authorization, or who utilizes AI while engaged in such illegal access to further any other crime. This includes breaching any public or private information technology system, or employing AI agents to unlawfully access data or information that is subsequently used for criminal or unlawful purpose.
GAO Reports Impacts of DOW’s Workforce Reduction Initiatives
MeriTalk reports that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report examining civilian workforce reductions at the Department of War (DOW). GAO found that the DoW lacked a consistent approach to assessing the effects of the workforce reductions which limited its ability to evaluate the impacts and guide future workforce planning.
In 2025, the DoW reduced its civilian workforce by more than 78,000 employees (approximately 10% of its workforce), exceeding its target reduction of 5% to 8% under President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative. The reductions resulted from a combination of routine budgeting and programming decisions, as well as initiatives such as the Deferred Resignation Program, which approved approximately 53,200 applications. In addition, a hiring freeze led to roughly 59,500 fewer civilian hires than in previous years. DoW officials cited organizational streamlining as a benefit of the workforce cuts but also reported increased strain on the remaining workforce. GAO found that assessments of these impacts were conducted inconsistently across the department, with supporting documentation often incomplete due in part to a lack of department-wide guidance.
Looking ahead, GAO identified additional civilian workforce reductions in the DoW’s FY 2026 budget request and recommended that the DoW establish a formal process to consistently evaluate ongoing and future workforce reduction initiatives, informed by lessons learned. The DoW agreed with the recommendation.
Proposed NDA for Federal Employees to Cover Procurement
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing to develop a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) for Federal employees. According to the OPM’s notice in the Federal Register, the NDA “is intended to document Federal employees’ acknowledgment of, and agreement to comply with, current legal obligations to safeguard non-public, confidential, or proprietary information, created or obtained through their official duties, while expressly preserving the right to make disclosures authorized by law.” OPM defines “confidential government information” for the NDA as:
“all non-public, confidential, or proprietary information, to include, but not be limited to, information relating to internal agency operations, personnel matters, procurement processes, or any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available and should not be disclosed under applicable law.”
The draft NDA template is posted for review here. OPM is accepting public comments on the proposed NDA within the next 30 days. They are especially interested in input from the public on the following:
- What scope of information should be covered by the NDA? Should it cover only unclassified information? How do you understand the terms confidential and confidentiality in the context of this NDA? What customization of the NDA, if any, may be necessary for agencies to ensure it covers the appropriate information?
- Does the NDA clearly communicate the types of information that would be subject to non-disclosure requirements? If not, how could OPM better describe what information can or cannot be disclosed to ensure employees have appropriate notice of their responsibilities?
- Are there other statutes to which OPM should cite in Appendix A of the NDA when describing the nondisclosure requirements applicable to individuals working for or on behalf of the Federal government?
- Do you have suggestions regarding the layout or formatting of the NDA?
- Does the Privacy Act statement in the NDA provide sufficient notice to employees of the authorities, principal purposes, routine uses, and effects of the form?
- Does the OPM/GOVT-1 system of records notice provide sufficient notice that the government-wide system of records would maintain records related to the signing of, or failure to sign, the NDA?
- What are the appropriate actions, if any, for agencies to consider taking if existing employees choose not to sign the NDA?
- What are the appropriate actions, if any, for agencies to consider taking if new employees choose not to sign the NDA?
- Does the NDA clearly communicate the potential consequences of refusal to sign the form for both existing and new employees, along with whether signing the form is voluntary or mandatory?
- What else should OPM consider with regard to the NDA??
The Coalition is interested in whether member companies would like us to submit comments to OPM on the draft NDA. Please send your feedback on whether the Coalition should submit comments, or any of the above questions, to Greg Waldron at gwaldron@thecgp.org.
Off the Shelf: Key Trends in Government Contracts Compliance
Alex Canizares, partner at Vinson & Elkins and co-head of the firm’s Government Contracts Practice Group, joins Off the Shelf to share insights on current developments in government contracts compliance.
Canizares discusses several Department of Justice (DOJ) initiatives, including Civil False Claims Act enforcement priorities, and provides a brief overview of the Act’s statutory language and general structure, as well as the DOJ’s newly established Fraud Enforcement Division.
Additionally, Canizares examines new DEI clause requirements and related enforcement developments.
Listen to the full interview here.