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Victoria Skiera

Victoria Skiera is an associate in the firm’s Government Contracts Practice Group, advising contractors on a range of regulatory and compliance issues. She has experience assisting clients with unique issues arising in government contracts transactions and related due diligence processes, as well as in compliance counseling, investigations, and disputes. Victoria also has experience assessing the impact of executive order and litigation activity in the context of federal procurement and financial assistance. Victoria maintains an active pro bono practice.

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On March 13, 2026, President Trump issued an Executive Order (EO) titled “Adjusting Certain Delegations Under the Defense Production Act.”  As we have covered in prior blog posts, the Defense Production Act (DPA) has traditionally been considered the primary federal means to manage and support defense production. 

The March 13th EO seeks to clarify and define certain aspects of two prior DPA-related EOs—EO 13603, “National Defense Resources Preparedness,” dated March 16, 2012, and EO 14156, “Declaring a National Energy Emergency,” dated January 20, 2025.  As such, the new EO is best understood in light of these two prior, related EOs.

Continue Reading “Adjusting Certain Delegations”:  New Executive Order Aims to Streamline and Clarify Delegated Authorities Under the Defense Production Act

On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court struck down an extensive series of tariffs imposed last year by President Trump, holding that they were not authorized under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”).  And on March 4, 2026, the United States Court of International Trade began the process of refunding certain of “the millions of entries that were subject to IEEPA,” through a process known in the international trade context as liquidating. 

These recent decisions by the Supreme Court and Court of International Trade may prompt federal contractors to consider seeking refunds of tariffs paid to import goods required to perform under their government contracts.  As we covered in a previous post, government contracts may contain clauses allowing for price increases following the imposition of a new federal tax.  These clauses can also work the other way and require a price decrease (or a credit to the Government under a cost-reimbursement contract) in the event of an after-relieved tax.  

Continue Reading Tariff Takedown:  Implications of Tariff Refunds for Government Contractors

On October 17, 2025, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) announced that it plans to issue a Mass Modification to GSA’s Multiple Award Schedule (“MAS” or “Schedule”) Solicitation[1] and Schedule contracts in November 2025 (“Refresh”).  Periodically, GSA may issue a Mass Modification to Schedule contracts to uniformly impose changes to the contract terms applicable to all Schedule contract holders, often as a result of changes in applicable law, regulation, or policy.  This approach also ensures that existing Schedule contracts have consistent terms, even though with the evergreen nature of the Solicitation those contracts have been entered into at different times and are at different stages of performance.

This Refresh (i.e., Refresh #30) will implement several significant changes with the goal to align the GSA Schedule with recent developments in the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (“RFO”).[2]  Although the full text of the Refresh is not yet available, GSA’s Refresh outline provides insight into the changes that are to come as GSA seeks to gain implementation experience with the RFO clauses, provisions, and ordering procedures through its Schedule contracts.  Given GSA’s leadership of the RFO process, and this year’s Executive Order to consolidate domestic procurement of common goods and services in GSA to the extent permitted by law,[3] it is no surprise that it has acted quickly to revise its long-term government-wide contracting vehicle according to these recent developments. 

Along with the Refresh announcement, GSA opened a 10 business day comment window on buy.gsa.gov, which we expect will close on October 31, 2025.  Schedules contractors will be expected to accept the Refresh no later than 90 days from its release which is expected sometime in November.  Below we discuss relevant background on the RFO process as it relates to the Schedule and anticipated changes to provisions and clauses in the Refresh.  We will continue to watch for updates as GSA’s implementation of the RFO unfolds.    

Continue Reading Overhauling the GSA Schedule

Two cornerstone authorities for federal contracting quietly expired on September 30, 2025, creating ripple effects that contractors—small and large—cannot afford to overlook.  The Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer (“SBIR/STTR”) programs, commonly known as “America’s Seed Fund” for their role in fueling early-stage innovation, and the Defense Production Act (“DPA”), the backbone of the government’s ability to prioritize contracts and strengthen the industrial base, both lapsed at the close of the fiscal year.  Although lawmakers have floated temporary or long-term fixes in pending legislation, nothing has yet been enacted.  The simultaneous government shutdown further complicates the picture, making new awards unlikely in the near term and magnifying uncertainty for contractors who rely on these authorities.

Continue Reading Expired:  SBIR/STTR and DPA Authorities in Limbo