Government Contracting Blog

FY2027 is underway, but most of the federal budget is still undecided. Now, after the November 3 midterms, Democrats will control both the House and Senate when the new Congress convenes in January. This will inevitably shift who sets the terms for federal spending over the next two years.

GSA is already lining up the next round of changes to the Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation with Refresh #34. This Refresh is not one to skim over, because it introduces significant changes including the removal of the 20-year limit on Schedule contracts, and the addition of GSA’s highly anticipated AI clause.

NASA SEWP VI officially starts November 1, 2026, and a lot of technology companies might feel like they missed a huge opportunity if they didn't get a contract this time around, or didn't have the time to get documents in order for the deadline.

After months of drafts, comments, and pushback from industry on a new Artificial Intelligence (AI) clause, GSA has decided to move forward with it. General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation (GSAR) clause 552.239-7001, “Basic Safeguarding of Data within Large Language Model Artificial Intelligence Systems” is a class deviation that becomes effective on October 19, 2026, but Contracting Officers (COs) can theoretically start using it now. GSA has also listed the clause in its advance notice for Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Solicitation Refresh #34, which is expected to be released in November 2026.

The General Services Administration (GSA) recently announced the retirement of their 2nd Generation Information Technology (2GIT) Blanket Purchase Agreement (BPA), a popular vehicle created for streamlined access to IT and software solutions. The 2GIT BPA ran from March 2021 through September 2026, but GSA said they do not have plans to renew this vehicle, as part of the White House’s initiative to consolidate procurement. GSA is now directing agencies over to the GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) Program and a few device-specific BPAs (for high-volume purchases) for their IT needs.

The federal government's Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 ends today, and FY2027 starts tomorrow on October 1st. For GSA Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contractors, that means the Q4 spending push is wrapping up and it’s time to think about the “new year”.