Welcome back.

Twelve new federal opportunities hit the RFP Snapshot library this week, down from 20 last week. That's the fiscal year-end slowdown. FY2026 closes Wednesday, so contracting shops are busy obligating funds on awards already in motion rather than releasing new requirements. FY2027 then opens Thursday on a continuing resolution through December 11.

Seven of this week's twelve are RFIs, which makes this a shaping week more than a bidding week.

The Coast Guard's BOD follow-on closes today, and Navy CNIC's shore manpower review is open to small and other-than-small businesses. That gives manpower and program-support shops two chances to argue for a set-aside before one is chosen.

IHS is scoping a drug information database for its RPMS health record. The Pentagon Force Protection Agency is testing fleet maintenance on OASIS+ SB. The Air Force is sizing Electronic Flight Bag support for the Mobility Air Forces. INSCOM's FRAME already carries a small business flag.

None of this week's notices explicitly asks industry to recommend a NAICS. But GSA's IDEAS eRR has no NAICS assigned at all, so a strong response there effectively proposes one, and it has the longest runway on the board: November 23.

Every opportunity in this roundup is saved as a downloadable ~4-page Snapshot in the RFP Snapshot library, ready to open for paid subscribers.

On a free account? You can still run your own Snapshot on any solicitation, free.

👉 Browse and download the Snapshots: RFP Snapshot Library

👉 Read the full roundup, sorted by deadline: September 28 Roundup

The FAR Council published four proposed rules rewriting FAR Parts 8, 9, 12 through 17, 27, 28, 35, 36, 38, 44, 47 and 51, with comments due October 19.

Parts 8 and 16 govern Schedule orders and task orders — the lane 11 of this week's 12 opportunities came through.

Federal Register — FAR Overhaul Parts 8, 12, 13, 15, 38, 44 and 51

SBA extended comments on its August proposals to November 20.

The proposals consolidate size standards into 338 industry groups and move many from revenue to headcount. Sidley Austin's analysis puts engineering services (541330) at $252M, up from $25.5M, with existing exceptions eliminated.

That matters for NAICS picks like MDA MAPSS's 541330 Exception 1.

Federal Register — SBA Size Standards

Sidley Austin — SBA proposes to rewrite the size standards

The VA Inspector General found VA actually terminated 435 contracts worth about $1.1 billion after DOGE review requests.

VA's May 2025 report to Congress cited a far larger figure.

Worth knowing as VA's TAP draft moves toward a final RFP.

VA Office of Inspector General report

Lifeview Group agreed to pay about $5.06 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations.

DOJ alleged the company misstated compliance with AbilityOne's direct labor ratio on a Defense Manpower Data Center IT services contract.

It's a reminder that set-aside and program eligibility certifications carry real liability.

U.S. Attorney's Office — Eastern District of Michigan

Congress cleared a stopgap funding the government through December 11, avoiding an October shutdown.

The House vote was 370-48, and only 3 of 12 full-year bills have passed the House.

Expect limits on new starts to keep new-requirement volume light into Q1.

Government Executive — Shutdown threat lifted

See you next Monday,

The RFP Snapshot Team