Government

The FAR is Lava

Learn the FAR and RFO through current events in federal procurement.

The FAR is Lava is a federal procurement podcast focused on helping acquisition professionals understand the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO) and the latest changes shaping government contracting.

Each episode uses current events, bid protests, policy changes, and GAO protests to make the FAR more practical and easier to follow.

We break down what changed, why it matters, and what contracting professionals should be paying attention to.

If you work in federal acquisition or GovCon and want a faster way to keep up with the FAR, RFO, and procurement news, The FAR is Lava is built for you.

Latest Episodes:

EP: 4 Roasting Congressman Neguse, RFO Rulemaking, CMMC Hits Pause & Who’s on the Naughty List? Sep 29, 2026

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Want your question featured on the next episode? Email us at: AskASI@asigovt.com
In Episode 4 of The FAR is Lava, Ben Bunting and Will Roberts break down the federal acquisition news to teach you the FAR and RFO.

This week:

• We roast a congressional exchange over the $13.1 million "no-bid" contract to renovate the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

• The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul moves from its rebellious phase into formal rulemaking, with major proposed changes affecting commercial acquisitions, negotiations, late proposals and Best-in-Class contracts.

• GSA raises federal lodging per diem rates, so congratulations: you may be able to afford eggs again.

• SBA receives heavy opposition to its proposed small-business size standards, which could allow companies with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue to qualify as small.

• A former CISA employee pleads guilty after secretly working multiple government contractor jobs and claiming workdays as long as 33 hours.

• The cancellation of CIO-SP4 raises a larger question: Is GSA slowly swallowing the federal acquisition market?

• The Pentagon pauses CMMC Phase Two while reviewing more than 1,100 industry responses. The “positive response” is largely support for the pause, not support for CMMC as written.

• In this week’s GAO protest, H2L Solutions challenges the VA after submitting a lower-priced quotation but receiving a Low Confidence technical rating. GAO also warns protesters about inaccurate citations bearing the hallmarks of unchecked AI use.

We also answer listener questions about whether BPAs inside IDIQ contracts can become a sole-source loophole and what recourse a contractor may have when an OTA prototype fails and the government later relaxes the requirements.

Daily Procurement Newsletter:
https://elink.io/p/dailydose-9ffda63

Earn CLPs Watching Our Content:
https://educationpro.asigovernment.com/

Schedule a Meeting:
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Have a question you want us to answer on the podcast? Leave it in the comments below.

Like, subscribe and share the episode with someone who works in federal acquisition.

The FAR is Lava is sponsored by ASI Government.

Editorial work by Anne Laurent.

Produced in collaboration with Studio Podcast Suites.

#FederalProcurement #GovernmentContracting #FAR #RFO #CMMC #SmallBusiness #BidProtest #GovCon

EP 3: RFO Part 9, DOGE’s DHS “Savings,” FBI Most Wanted & Polish Balloons Sep 29, 2026

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Welcome to Episode 3 of The FAR is Lava, where we teach the FAR and RFO through current federal procurement news.
Have a question you want us to answer on the podcast? Email us: AskASI@asigovt.com

This week, we break down RFO Part 9 and take a look at GAO’s questions about whether DHS contract cancellations actually delivered the savings being claimed. We also cover SBA’s move away from voluntary notice-and-comment procedures, a short-term funding bill that puts DoD’s $1.5 trillion budget request on hold, and the latest cyber information-sharing extension.
Plus: GSA’s procurement-fraud Most Wanted story, Boeing’s massive $131 billion F-15 IDIQ, and a GAO protest involving Army aerostat systems for Poland—yes, the Polish balloons.
We also answer listener questions about when a FAR definition in a specific subsection controls over FAR Part 2, and how a prime can use subcontractors on simplified acquisitions while still building a winning price.
And for This Day in Contract History: the Lewis and Clark Expedition returns to St. Louis after nearly 8,000 miles, supported by an early federal purchasing effort involving more than 180 supply items and hundreds of purchases.
Daily Procurement Newsletter: https://elink.io/p/dailydose-9ffda63
Earn CLPs watching our content: https://educationpro.asigovernment.com/
Schedule a Meeting: AskASI@asigovt.com
#FederalAcquisition #GovernmentContracting #FAR #RFO #Procurement #GAOProtest #DHS #DOD #SmallBusiness

EP 2: RFO Goes to Court, FAR Part 16, 8(a) Changes & the Ms. X Protest Sep 29, 2026

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The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul is going to court.
In Episode 2 of The FAR is Lava, Ben Bunting and Will Roberts break down the latest federal procurement news, RFO changes, a new GAO protest, and what it all means for acquisition professionals and government contractors.

Video Episodes: https://youtu.be/bP14z--7CxE

Daily Procurement Newsletter:
https://elink.io/p/dailydose-9ffda63
Earn CLPs watching our content:
https://educationpro.asigovernment.com/
Schedule a Meeting:
AskASI@asigovt.com
Have a question you want us to answer on the podcast?
Leave it in the comments below.
This week:
• RFO Goes to Court — Don Acquisition is challenging the way the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul was implemented, arguing that major changes made through model deviations should have gone through formal notice-and-comment rulemaking.
• FAR Part 16 + NASA SEWP VI — NASA awarded more than 2,100 companies spots on SEWP VI. We use the massive GWAC to look at the new FAR Part 16, including streamlined fair opportunity, BPAs inside multiple-award IDIQs, and on-ramps and off-ramps.
• 8(a) Show & Tell — SBA has released new guidance explaining how individually owned businesses must demonstrate social disadvantage when applying for the 8(a) Business Development Program.
• Anthropic vs. the Pentagon — A federal judge struck down the Pentagon’s supply-chain-risk designation involving Anthropic, but a separate procurement-law fight is still unresolved.
• GSA Starts Charging for USAi — Agencies now have to pay to use GSA’s governmentwide generative AI platform, raising new questions about cost, ROI, and centralized government AI services.
• Who is “Ms. X”? — In a new GAO protest, an agency evaluator denied consulting for the awardee. The awardee then revealed that she had actually performed consulting work related to the exact requirement being competed. GAO found the agency’s initial conflict-of-interest investigation unreasonable.
Plus, we go back to September 17, 2024 for This Day in Contract History and GSA’s Commercial Solutions Opening pilot, and we answer listener questions about how FAR clauses are created and the new RFO.
If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe, share it with another acquisition professional, and join us again next week.
The FAR is Lava is sponsored by ASI Government.
#FederalAcquisition #GovernmentContracting #FAR #RFO #GovCon #FederalProcurement #FARPart16 #SEWPVI #8a #GAOProtest

EP 1: RFO Part 19, AbilityOne, AI Fraud & the Wilson 5 Protest Sep 15, 2026

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Welcome to Episode 1 of The FAR is Lava, where we teach the FAR and RFO through current procurement news.
In this episode, Ben Bunting and Will Roberts break down some of the biggest stories affecting federal acquisition right now:
• SBA’s proposal to overhaul small business size standards, potentially making more than 114,000 additional companies eligible as small businesses
• GSA’s scrutiny of the AbilityOne program over Buy American compliance, pricing, and country-of-origin concerns
• A VA contract dispute where a contractor may have used AI to manipulate financial documents
• The Technology Modernization Fund and how it could have roughly $200 million available for new IT modernization projects even without a new congressional appropriation
• A new GAO protest involving Wilson 5 Service Company that shows the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul in action
• RFO FAR Part 19 and what is changing for small business acquisition
• Listener questions about J&As, BPAs, IDIQs, and how to start a career as a federal contracting officer
We also take a trip through contract history and look at the Defense Production Act of 1950 and the federal contractor COVID-19 executive order.
Video Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/@asi.education
Daily Procurement Newsletter: https://elink.io/p/dailydose-9ffda63
Earn CLPs watching our content: https://educationpro.asigovernment.com/
Schedule a Meeting: AskASI@asigovt.com
Have a question you want us to answer on the podcast? Leave it in the comments below.
#FederalAcquisition #GovernmentContracting #GovCon #FAR #RFO #FederalProcurement #ContractingOfficer #SmallBusiness #AbilityOne

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