What the Experts Say
Federal Acquisition Experts Speak Out on the FAR Overhaul
All quotes from: Wifcon Podcast: Update on the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, May 27, 2025. Listen Here
Featured Experts
- Vern Edwards: Renowned federal procurement expert and author, former senior acquisition official.
- Jim Nagle: Attorney and author specializing in federal procurement law.
- Ralph Nash: Professor Emeritus of Law at George Washington University, leading authority on government contracts.
- Don Mansfield: Procurement policy expert and author, extensively involved in federal acquisition education.
Misuse of Class Deviations
"Class deviations were never intended to overhaul the entire FAR. They were intended to be specific and limited in scope."
– Vern Edwards
"They're using class deviations like regular rulemaking, but that's not what class deviations are for. They're extraordinary measures, not routine regulatory changes."
– Jim Nagle
Lack of Transparency and Public Oversight
"This process bypasses the APA completely—no Federal Register publication, no transparent public docket, no formal accountability. It's all done behind closed doors."
– Ralph Nash
"The informal comment process they're using doesn't meet the standards of public oversight required by law. There's no real visibility into how decisions are made."
– Don Mansfield
Undermining Market Research and Small Business Set-Asides
"They're stripping away critical market research provisions from FAR Part 10—these procedures were fundamental triggers for small business set-asides."
– Jim Nagle
"If you remove clear market research requirements, you're directly undermining the foundational process that ensures small business gets considered."
– Vern Edwards
Ambiguous and Unclear Guidance
"These new buying guides they're proposing aren't regulations. They don't have the force of law and will vary agency to agency, causing real confusion."
– Don Mansfield
"Agencies are going to interpret these buying guides differently, creating inconsistency and ambiguity across federal procurement."
– Ralph Nash
Questionable Legal Foundation
"I don't see any legal justification presented for using deviations in this wholesale manner. Deviations need clear, specific justification—and we're not seeing it."
– Vern Edwards
"They're ignoring APA standards and requirements for legal justification altogether. This deviation approach raises serious questions of legality."
– Jim Nagle
Risks and Uncertainty for Small Businesses
"Removing transparency, accountability, and clear market research standards directly threatens small business participation in federal procurement."
– Ralph Nash
"Small businesses depend on predictable rules. Weakening mandatory market research procedures significantly increases their risk and uncertainty."
– Jim Nagle
Practicality of Using Buying Guides
"Relying on buying guides that aren't enforceable or authoritative might sound efficient, but practically speaking, it's probably unworkable."
– Vern Edwards
"This reliance on buying guides could either make or break the entire overhaul—they're essentially betting everything on informal guidance rather than enforceable rules."
– Don Mansfield