In This Week’s Newsletter:
- Opportunity Spotlight of the Week: TSA TOMCAT
- Four To Follow: Four Interesting Pursuits
- The Interesting Section: GSA OneGov
- Capture Corner: Federal Civilian Acquisition Reforms—Part 1
- Pricing Insights: Pricing –To-Win vs Pricing-To-Execute
Opportunity Alert – TSA TOMCAT
Contact Katie: katie.clatterbuck@hinzconsulting.com
Department of Homeland Security, Transport Security Administration (TSA), IT Operations and Maintenance Services (TOMCAT).
On December 8, 2025, DHS/APFS (Acquisition Planning Forecast System) announced that the Federal Operations & Maintenance for Continuous User Support (FOMCUS) requirement is now titled TOMCAT. The solicitation for this $300M Full and Open/Unrestricted opportunity is expected to be released on or about December 19, 2025, with a projected award date of August 2026. The TSA anticipates issuing a Multiple Award BPA under GSA MAS. Reach out to Hinz Consulting for any Capture, Graphics, Price-to-Win, or Proposal support, and continue to monitor SAM.gov for any updates in the procurement timeline.
Four to Follow
- Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), Waterfront Training Services Support. On December 4, 2025, the Contracting Office issued a Sources Sought notice to industry to identify interested parties willing to provide technical training support to Expeditionary Warfare Training Group, Pacific (EWTGPAC). Responses to this notice are due no later than 3:00 PM ET on December 19, 2025. The final RFP for this $380M effort is expected to be released in May 2026 via SeaPort NxG, with a projected award date of October 2026. The competition type is currently unknown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov and your SeaPort portal for any updates to the procurement timeline.
- Department of the Army, Airborne Antiterrorism Border Security Signals Intelligence Systems (SIGINT). On December 4, 2025, the Contracting Office issued a Sources Sought notice to identify interested parties with available industry technologies and qualified to fulfill Foreign Military Sales (FMS) requirements for a SIGINT system(s). Responses to this Sources Sought are due no later than 4:00 PM ET on December 18, 2025. The estimated release of the final RFP for this Small Business Set-Aside is March 2026, with a projected award date of September 2026. The award value is currently unknown. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for more information.
- Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Virtualization Infrastructure Support. On December 8, 2025, CBP issued a Sources Sought notice and a Draft Statement of Objectives (SOO) to request estimates for a potential replacement of the virtualization infrastructure, including advanced technical support and migration services for the legacy environment. Responses to this RFI and Draft SOO are due no later than 12:00 PM ET on December 19, 2025. The competition type and value for this effort are currently unknown. The final RFP is expected to be released around February 2026, with an award expected in April 2026. Continue to monitor SAM.gov for further updates on this effort.
- Department of the Navy, Construction Management Services. On December 1, 2025, the Contracting Office released a Sources Sought notice for a new requirement that details the need for contractor support to provide contract management services and deliverables for all planning, design, and construction of facilities and infrastructure. Responses to this Sources Sought are due no later than 12:00 PM PT on December 12, 2025. The estimated release date for this $500M IDIQ is March 2026, with a projected award date of December 2026. Continue monitoring SAM.gov for further information and schedule updates.
GSA OneGov
The General Services Administration (GSA) formally launched the OneGov Strategy in April 2025, aligning with President Trump’s April 2025 Executive Order. OneGov aims to modernize and unify federal IT procurement by improving coordination with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), increasing pricing transparency, streamlining acquisition processes, and strengthening cybersecurity protections across the government.
At its core, OneGov positions GSA as the centralized hub for federal IT procurement, enabling the government to act as a unified entity rather than dozens of independent agencies negotiating separately. This shift delivers significant advantages: agencies gain easier access to IT tools with standardized terms and pricing, while OEMs benefit from a more predictable, consistent engagement process.
Over the past several weeks, GSA has announced several major OneGov agreements:
- SAP: An 18-month agreement providing federal agencies with up to 80% discounts on license-based products (including SAP HANA, ASE, IQ, SQL Anywhere, Replication Server, and PowerDesigner) and 35% discounts on cloud services.
- Palo Alto Networks: An agreement running through January 31, 2028, covering AI Security, Cloud Security, Next‑Generation Firewalls, and Zero Trust–based Secure Access solutions to strengthen federal cyber infrastructure.
SAP and Palo Alto Networks join Adobe, Google, and Microsoft, all of which were added to OneGov earlier in 2025. Google’s agreement provides federal agencies with a temporary 71% price reduction for Google Workspace, while Microsoft is offering discounted cloud services, including Microsoft 365 and Copilot. Adobe offered its Paperless Government Solution at a 70% discount off the current GSA list price through November 30, 2025.
Together, these agreements demonstrate the momentum behind GSA’s OneGov Strategy and its increasing impact on how the federal government procures, secures, and manages enterprise IT.
Federal Civilian Acquisition Reforms — Part 1
Contact Nick: nick.mccauley@hinzconsulting.com
In my recent articles, I’ve focused more on DoD acquisition reforms—such as the elimination of JCIDS and the introduction of streamlined mechanisms like JROC, RRAB, and JAR—but Federal Civilian agencies are also undergoing an overhaul. These reforms prioritize deregulation, accelerated timelines, and commercial solutions, driven by executive actions to minimize administrative hurdles and consolidate procurement channels. Below, we outline key reforms, including their implementation status, real-world effects, and 1-2 practical tips for contractors such as capture managers.
Note: Because of the scope and pace of these changes, we’re dividing this analysis into two parts, which will appear in two consecutive issues of Hinz Sight. Part 1 (below) focuses on the first two major reform areas: The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul and Threshold Adjustments. Part 2 (coming next week) will cover additional reforms: GSA-Led GWAC and IT Consolidation, and Innovation and Workforce Mandates.
1. The Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO):
Executive Order 14275, issued April 15, 2025, directed a comprehensive FAR rewrite to excise non-statutory provisions, simplify language, and adhere strictly to legal requirements. The FAR Council and the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) issued interim class deviations—temporary waivers that allow agencies to bypass specific FAR rules—in June-August 2025, targeting areas such as acquisition planning (FAR Part 7), privacy (Part 24), and subcontracting (Part 44). By late August, revisions covered Parts 1, 4-6, 8-12, 18, 26, and 28-31, though the complete overhaul lagged past its October 13 deadline and will extend into 2026 through notice-and-comment rulemaking.
Class deviations deviate from the standard FAR text, providing agencies with flexibility to test streamlined approaches during the transition. For instance, they permit skipping outdated documentation requirements that previously delayed approvals.
Impact: This enables faster routine procurements, such as HHS sourcing health supplies or DHS acquiring IT tools, by reducing the burden of justification for non-competitive awards. A concrete example is GSA’s February 2025 deviations under CAAC Letter 2025-01, which removed DEI-related clauses (e.g., FAR 52.222-21 on affirmative action) from solicitations and contracts, allowing amendments without penalties and aligning with executive priorities on merit-based practices.
Contractor Tips: In proposals, one approach is to incorporate these deviations by referencing the specific waived FAR provisions (e.g., citing a class deviation to omit lengthy past performance evaluations under FAR 15.305 for simplified buys) and proposing compliant alternatives like modular task orders, which demonstrate alignment with agency efficiencies and can elevate your evaluation under “best value” criteria. To clarify: “Incorporating deviations” means tailoring your response to the agency’s adopted waiver—for example, if a solicitation deviates from FAR Part 7’s rigid planning docs, highlight how your solution fits a lighter, outcome-focused plan, avoiding boilerplate compliance language that no longer applies. During opportunity qualification, review the solicitation’s deviation notice to adjust strategies and prioritize pursuits where these changes shorten evaluation cycles.
2. Threshold Adjustments:
FAR thresholds establish dollar caps for applying simplified acquisition rules, reducing paperwork for smaller buys. Federal Acquisition Circular 2025-06, issued August 27, 2025, updated them for inflation effective October 1: The micro-purchase threshold (MPT) increased from $10,000 to $15,000, enabling card-based purchases without competition; the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) rose from $250,000 to $350,000 (with higher limits in contingencies). These adjustments proceeded on schedule, without reported delays.
Regarding Cost Accounting Standards (CAS), which govern cost-tracking compliance, current thresholds (e.g., $2 million for basic applicability) remain unchanged. However, proposals from the CAS Board in April 2025 and deviations from the August RFO suggest raising the threshold to $100 million for specific triggers, pending final approval and potential codification in 2026.
Impact: Aligned with EO 14192 (January 31, 2025) on deregulation, these changes enable quick, small-scale acquisitions, such as DHS procuring IT consulting without strict FAR compliance. A real-world example is the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s use of the elevated MPT in Q4 2025 to rapidly acquire field-testing equipment priced under $15,000 using government purchase cards, bypassing the RFP process.
Contractor Tips: Recommend you bundle complementary services or products to stay under the new SAT limits, sidestepping full-and-open competitions and associated protest risks to secure quicker awards. In gate reviews, reassess PWin by factoring in these thresholds—e.g., for a $300,000 IT support opportunity, emphasize agile, low-overhead delivery models that capitalize on simplified procedures, potentially accelerating cash flow and positioning you ahead of incumbents reliant on traditional FAR paths.
Coming next week: Part 2 of Federal Civilian Acquisition Reforms.
Pricing–To-Win vs Pricing-To-Execute
Contact Dr. Tom: tom.hudgins@hinzconsulting.com
The key differences between pricing-to-win and pricing-to-execute lie in their primary focus: external competitiveness versus internal viability.
When it comes to competitive bids, pricing-to-win is generally more effective because it directly addresses the customer’s decision-making criteria, including
• Market Realism: Price-to-Win (PTW) is a market-driven strategy. It is based on competitive intelligence—understanding what competitors will likely charge and the customer’s budget ceiling. By analyzing this data, it finds the “Winning Price Window” (the price point that is low enough to win but high enough to be credible).
• Increased Win Rate: In a competitive environment, a technically acceptable proposal with an uncompetitive price will lose. PTW ensures the bid price is strategically positioned to beat rivals and meet customer expectations, directly boosting the win rate.
• Value-Price Alignment: The process encourages aligning the technical solution with the price, allowing the bidder to justify a higher price if the solution offers superior value or capability.
While a pricing-to-execute approach can ensure profitability, if the contract is won, it may result in a price that is too high to be considered, rendering the execution plan irrelevant. A successful bidding strategy often requires balancing the market focus of pricing-to-win with the financial discipline of pricing-to-execute.
If the bid isn’t competitive or is sole source, one might be able to use price-to-execute; however, there are risks associated with that as well, especially regarding auditing, cost realism, and justification.
- January 26-28th: National Small Business Conference in Nashville, TN
- February 1-4th: National Conference of Regions in Washington DC
- March 16-17th: 2026 Air Force Contracting Summit in Reston, VA