Comment on FR Doc # 2026-12561

My name is Lisa Morrow, founder and CEO of The LDM Group LLC, a woman-owned and SBA-certified 8(a) small business headquartered in Accokeek, Maryland. We provide federal agencies with professional services in human capital and human resources, employee relations, reasonable accommodations, Freedom of Information Act support, records and information management, administrative support, workforce solutions, and program management. I support efforts to streamline and modernize the Federal Acquisition Regulation. However, I oppose changes that reduce mandatory public notice, transparency, competition, and small-business protections under FAR Part 5. More than 75 percent of our revenue comes from federal contracting, and the opportunities we typically pursue range from approximately $250,000 to $1 million. As a woman-owned small business, we stand to lose a critical lifeline to federal contract awards if these protections are weakened. Public notices and meaningful small-business consideration are essential mechanisms that allow qualified women-owned firms to identify opportunities, compete against larger incumbents, build past performance, retain employees, and grow. Public notices give us time to evaluate requirements, confirm qualified personnel, obtain pricing, establish teaming relationships, and prepare compliant proposals. Shortening or weakening advance-notice requirements would significantly disadvantage small businesses. Large contractors often maintain dedicated capture teams, proposal departments, recruiting pipelines, and established agency relationships. Small businesses operate with leaner teams and need adequate time to make responsible bid decisions and develop competitive submissions. Sources-sought notices, requests for information, presolicitation notices, and solicitation announcements also help agencies determine whether qualified small businesses exist. The LDM Group has won federal contracts because these notices and related outreach gave us an opportunity to demonstrate our experience, personnel, management systems, and capacity to perform. Without timely public notice, capable small businesses may never be identified before requirements are directed to large incumbents, placed on unrestricted vehicles, consolidated into larger procurements, or structured in ways that unnecessarily restrict competition. I am also concerned about making announcements of contract awards above $5.5 million optional and withdrawing public notice of certain sole-source awards. Award notices provide critical marketplace intelligence. Small businesses use this information to understand agency buying patterns, identify incumbents, anticipate recompetes, evaluate future opportunities, develop teaming strategies, and assess whether agencies are meeting small-business objectives. Public notice is not unnecessary administrative paperwork. It is a fundamental competition and transparency mechanism. Small businesses cannot compete for opportunities they cannot see, cannot adequately evaluate, or learn about only after award. These proposed changes would directly harm my business. The protections being removed are among the primary reasons a firm of our size can compete fairly, win contracts, employ qualified professionals, and grow. I respectfully request that the FAR Council retain meaningful minimum notice periods, preserve public notice requirements for federal opportunities and sole-source actions, continue requiring announcements of significant awards, provide sufficient response time for small businesses, and maintain transparency throughout the acquisition process. I support and incorporate by reference the comments filed in this docket by the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, including its principal comment, Comment ID FAR-2026-0005-0013, and its comment under 5 U.S.C. § 610, Comment ID FAR-2026-0005-0014.