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Cost Estimating NewsBrief: October 10, 2025
FAR Council Issues Changes to 8 Parts of Acquisition Regulation
(ExecutiveGov) The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council has released new model deviation text for eight parts of the FAR as part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, or RFO, initiative. In April, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing his administration to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to streamline the federal procurement process and eliminate barriers to doing business with the government. The FAR Council issued new text for Part 15 – Contracting by Negotiation; Part 16 – Types of Contracts; Part 22 – Application of Labor Laws to Government Acquisitions; and Part 23 – Sustainable Acquisition, Material Safety and Pollution Prevention; Read More
National Nuclear Security Administration: Agency Should Improve Cost Growth Notification Process
(U.S. Government Accountability Office) Over the next 2 decades, the United States plans to spend tens of billions of dollars to modernize its nuclear weapons stockpile and the research and production infrastructure on which its stockpile programs depend. The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) is responsible for managing these efforts. Since 2011, NNSA has been required by law to report on cost baselines and cost growth for certain construction projects and nuclear weapons acquisition programs. For example, NNSA must notify congressional defense committees when construction projects initially set cost baselines that exceed $65 million, and again if costs are expected to exceed baselines by 25 percent or more. Read More
USPTO to use AI tool for automated search pilot
(Federal News Network) The U.S Patent and Trademark Office is turning to artificial intelligence to help automate the process of analyzing and sharing “prior art” issues with patent applications. In an Oct. 8 notice in the Federal Register, USPTO announced plans to launch an “Automated Search Pilot Program.” The program will evaluate “the impact of sharing the results of an automated search prior to examination of an original, noncontinuing, nonprovisional utility patent application,” USPTO’s notice stated. Sharing the automated search results to patent applicants “will provide the applicant with an earlier communication regarding potential prior art issues in their application.” Read More
Why Agency Helps Employees Cope With Change
(MIT Sloan Management Review) Workplace developments like hybrid working and artificial intelligence have brought a cascade of sometimes destabilizing changes that many people have struggled to keep up with. Such changes can leave employees feeling as if the rug has been pulled out from under them. How can leaders stop change from undermining workers’ morale and productivity, and help their people regain a sense of control? A good place for leaders to start is to question whether they are pursuing the right objective. A leader who was involved in planning a particular change, for example, will have had time to come to terms with it well ahead of most employees. Read More
ICEAA’s NewsBrief is a collection of articles relevant to the cost estimating and analysis community that is delivered weekly to current ICEAA members. To advertise in NewsBrief, contact iceaa@iceaaonline.org.