As Peak Season continues, Personal Property Activity (PPA) this week praised the dedication of transportation service providers, agents, warehouse operators, drivers, and crews across the country. The call out was welcome recognition. The industry has demonstrated its commitment repeatedly during a succession of challenging circumstances from the COVID-19 outbreak through the disruption of the GHC to the rescue of last year’s peak season after the cancellation of the GHC contract.
We appreciate PPA leadership’s continued engagement with industry stakeholders and their willingness to work through real operational issues together.
SENATE NDAA PROPOSES CMMC GRANT PROGRAM
Small businesses in the defense industrial space received some potential good news this week.
The Senate Committee on Armed Services has included a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification grant program in its version of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act. If passed, it would require the DoD to set up the program by July 1, 2027, with grants available to small businesses and nontraditional contractors to help cover the cost of CMMC third-party assessment.
DoD has estimated that Level Two certification costs for small businesses would run just over $101,000. The Senate bill would cap individual grants at $100,000 and total program funding at $50 million, with priority given to organizations that have never held a DoD contract or subcontract.
This grant program is a direct response to the DoD ramping up CMMC Level Two requirements starting this November. These would apply to tens of thousands of companies, many of them small businesses that have raised concerns about whether compliance costs could push them out of the defense market entirely.
This bill must still pass both chambers and survive conference.
MOLD ACT ADVANCES IN SENATE NDAA
The Senate Committee on Armed Services has included the Military Operations, Living Conditions, and Dignity (MOLD) Act in its version of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act. The legislation would strengthen oversight of mold and environmental hazards in military housing.
The NDAA process is still ongoing, but getting this language into the Senate bill is meaningful progress. MFA will continue tracking this one.
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