The federal government spends more than $20 billion annually on contracts with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. But the rules governing SDVOSB eligibility can be complex and confusing – starting with the fact that the government runs not one, but two SDVOSB programs.
On January 14, join me for a webinar, hosted by our friends at Govology, covering the ins-and-outs of Uncle Sam’s SDVOSB programs. In this session, I will demystify the key SDVOSB eligibility requirements in pl
Monday December 21 will be the shortest day of the year in United States. But guess what–that means we’ll be seeing more daylight starting Tuesday! While you are burning the midnight oil and preparing for the holidays, check out some of these recent federal contracting updates.
These include the federal government averting a shut down, details on a cyber attack involving multiple federal agencies, and a GAO report that agencies must enhance supply chain risk management.
SolarWinds’
The Indian Health Service has released a proposed rule that will strengthen requirements for IHS to set aside contracts for businesses owned by tribal companies. The new rule should result in increased opportunities for native-owned businesses by bringing Buy Indian Act purchasing preferences in line with other purchasing policies such as the small business Rule of Two, and it’s about time, as this purchasing preference has been law for 110 years with little clarity on how agencies would enforce
Joint ventures operating under the SBA’s All Small Mentor-Protege Program may need to adjust their joint venture agreements because of a little-noticed change to SBA’s joint venture rules.
In its recent final rule, effective November 16, SBA amended two of the mandatory requirements for mentor-protege joint ventures pursuing small business set-aside contracts. SBA did not make corresponding changes to the joint venture rules for SBA’s four major socioeconomic programs–meaning that a joint v
A federal agency has broad discretion to make a sole source award under Phase III of the Small Business Innovation Research program.
In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO confirmed that an agency may make a Phase III award when the contract “derives from, extends, or completes efforts made under prior funding agreements under the SBIR program.” What’s more, an agency has “relatively limited requirements to justify a phase III award,” and considerable discretion when it comes to determin
Hope your holiday season is going well. I’m enjoying the start of college basketball–finally getting to watch the hometown Jayhawks, who ended last season at number 1 in the polls!
This week saw some key updates, including timing for STARS III awards and other small business GWACs, a report on mismanagement related to the AbilityOne program, and a new DOD directive to improve acquisition reform.
Persistent Deficiencies and Mismanagement of Agency Programs Hamper Ability One’s Future
Per the 2021 NDAA that was recently approved by Congress, small business offerors without their own past performance experience can now submit experience earned as part of a joint venture–and the procuring agency must consider it. This change will significantly benefit newer companies that do not yet have the individual experience to successfully compete for government contracts (that is, assuming the President signs the NDAA). It will also add an incentive for start-up companies to take advanta
In a recent decision, GAO dismissed a protest challenging the USDA’s issuance of a lease contract as untimely where the protester’s communications with the agency did not constitute an agency-level protest, and the protest was filed more than 10 days after the notice that formed the basis of its protest was received by the protester.
In October 2019, the USDA issued a 20-year request for lease proposal (RLP) for office space in Red Bluff, California to be awarded to the lowest-priced, te
If you’re a regular SmallGovCon reader (and we hope you are!), you probably are familiar with the Small Business Runway Extension Act. Under the Runway Extension Act, Congress lengthened the period used to determine small business status under receipts-based size standards, from three to five years. Congress’s laudable goal was to allow businesses to “stay small” longer, but the Runway Extension Act can backfire when a business has been shrinking instead of growing.
Now, Congress has done
There is a substantial change for 8(a) Program Participants in the NDAA that was recently approved by Congress. The House and Senate have agreed to extend the term of 8(a) Participants from 9 years to 10 years for any company that was admitted to 8(a) Program by September 9 of this year. This will be a major benefit to 8(a) companies, assuming the President signs the NDAA.
The Conference Report on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (in section 869) would require the SBA to allow
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 8229, the “Parity for HUBZone Appeals Act,” by voice vote on December 3, 2020. It would allow appeal of HUBZone decisions to the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.
What has long been a thorn in the side of HUBZone applicants or existing companies is, hopefully, on its way out the door. Currently, the only “appeal” process for adverse HUBZone determinations is to go right back to the SBA’s HUBZone Office and ask it to reconsider or submit a new ap
The House and Senate have agreed to eliminate service-disabled veteran-owned small business self-certification and adopt a government-wide SDVOSB certification requirement, while transferring control of the certification process from the VA to the SBA.
The Conference Report on the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act would require government-wide SDVOSB certification (eventually) and transfer control of the the Center for Verification and Evaluation from the VA to the SBA. Assuming the P
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and is staying safe and healthy! This week, we’ve got an extra helping of news for our roundup of federal contracting updates.
Important updates from the past two weeks included the final CMMC acquisition rule, an update about category management, and some reminders that the Department of Labor is enforcing wage rules for federal contractors.
Final CMMC acquisition rule goes into effect [Fedscoop]
Military Subcontractor Pays $108,002 in Back
Depending on the type of procurement, an agency will often provide either a brief explanation or debriefing after an award is made. But those explanations are difficult to challenge, as a recent GAO decision confirmed.
In the decision, GAO dismissed a protester’s challenge to the sufficiency of a two-paragraph explanation. Protester failed to show competitive prejudice or regulatory deficiency in the explanation. Since the protester could not demonstrate either of these conditions resulted f
OHA recently confirmed it lacked jurisdiction over a CVE appeal mistakenly filed with CVE, not OHA, by the deadline. You might be thinking: “Oh come on, the CVE appeal was filed with CVE on time!” But OHA’s strict timeliness rules make no exception for any such mistakes in the CVE appeal process. In fact, OHA disclaims the authority to even consider a late appeal, regardless of whether or not it was timely (but improperly) filed with CVE itself.
Taylor Made Sols., LLC, SBA No. CVE-172,
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, all of us are doing our best to stay safe and healthy. But for federal contractors, the COVID spike also brings increased risks of delays and other problems under active government contracts.
On Thursday, December 3, please join me for “COVID-19: Best Practices for Government Contractors,” a virtual session hosted by the UTSA SBDC Center for Government Contracting/COVID Business Recovery Accelerator. I’ll provide you with a step-by-step proactive approach f
In some circles, the VA CVE application process for SDVOSB/VOSB certification has a reputation as being very cumbersome and time-consuming. But while applying for verification isn’t exactly fun, it doesn’t take an extraordinarily long time for most new applicants to be verified. In fact, according to the VA’s Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, the average processing time is a mere 34 days.
In its Fall 2020 newsletter, the VA OSDBU writes that it has processed nearly
Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at SmallGovCon. Hope all our readers have a wonderful and revitalizing holiday.
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Raise your hand if you love completing your SAM profile! Um, anyone? Anyone?
Love it or hate it, SAM is a fact of life for government contractors, and it’s very important to get it right. Mistakes on your SAM profile (including those seemingly never-ending “reps and certs”) can come back to haunt you.
On December 1, please join me and Carroll Bernard, the co-founder of Govology, as we discuss how to set up your SAM profile–properly! Just click here to register. Hope to see you the
Control over a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business can be held by multiple service-disabled veterans. Having control reside in multiple individuals can make things a little more complicated, though. SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals recently examined a situation where multiple service-disabled veterans shared control of a company, but did not have a united front when responding to information requests concerning a company’s eligibility.
In Pro-Sphere Tek, Inc., CVE-162 (Aug. 3
Sure, you could spend the day before Thanksgiving feverishly researching how to deep fry a turkey without burning down the neighborhood, but if you’re a government contracting wonk like me, I bet what you’re really hungering for is some good, fun talk about federal procurement.
Well, you’re in luck! On Wednesday, November 25, join me at 12:00 Eastern on The Govcast with host Jack Siney. Jack and I will discuss the latest and greatest in government contracting, so bring your questions (bu
In a recent case, the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, dismissed a claim for lack of jurisdiction because it did not include a “sum certain.”
The case is a good reminder of the importance of demanding a specific sum of money for most claims.
The case, Sweet Star Logistic Service, ASBCA No. 62082 (September 30, 2020), involved a dispute over the quality of various items Sweet Star delivered to the government. In September 2018, the Army awarded a contract to Sweet Star for d
I’m looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, even if won’t look the same as it may have in past years. It’s still a time to be thankful, enjoy the (possibly virtual) company of family and friends, and eat some great food–with my personal favorite being stuffing!
As you finalize your Thanksgiving menu, read up on these federal contracting stories, including a number of fraud-related enforcement actions, increased use of OTA, and how the pandemic has changed the way federal agencies work.
The 8(a) Business Development Mentor-Protégé Program has officially been consolidated into the All-Small Mentor-Protégé Program. The goal: to eliminate duplications in regulations and to alleviate confusion between the two programs.
This change has been years in the making. Since the All-Small Mentor-Protégé Program was introduced in 2016, confusion between the two programs has persisted. SBA began looking at how to streamline the programs. We first wrote about the proposed rule changes back
The SBA has cut the waiting period for reapplying to the 8(a) Program from 12 months to only 90 days.
In a final rule effective November 16, the SBA explains that the shorter period should reduce the need for sometimes-costly appeals of denied 8(a) Program applications.
Applying to the 8(a) Program can be a rather arduous process. Sometimes, even relatively strong applicants don’t succeed on their first try. Under the current 8(a) Program application rules, if a company’s 8(a) Prog
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