Women-owned small businesses are increasingly seeking to become certified through one of four SBA-approved third-party WOSB certifiers. But which third-party certifier to use?
There doesn’t seem to be any single resource summarizing the basics about the four SBA-approved certifiers, such as the application fees, processing time, and documents required by each certifier. So here it is–a roundup of the key information for three of the four SBA-approved WOSB certifiers (as you’ll see, we’ve had
The number of DoD small business contract actions has dropped almost 70 percent since Fiscal Year 2011, even as the total number of small business dollars increased significantly. This is one of the important new findings from an acquisition reform panel’s initial report.
The Advisory Panel on Streamlining and Codifying Acquisition Regulations–better known as the Section 809 Panel–recently released the first in an anticipated three-volume series of reports on ways to potentially reform and imp
It’s going to be a beautiful weekend here in Lawrence, with temperatures in the 70s and lots of sun. I’m looking forward to some time outdoors finally enjoying the spring. But before I hit the exit at the office, it’s time for our weekly dose of government contracts news and notes.
In this week’s edition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review, a well-known large federal contractor is accused of underpaying its employees, a commentator asks whether RFIs are one big waste of time, the Secretary of D
Coinciding with the May 1, 2018 requirement that GAO bid protests be filed using the new Electronic Protest Docketing System, the GAO has released an updated version of its “Descriptive Guide” to the GAO bid protest process.
This Guide–the tenth edition published by GAO–is packed with useful information and tips about using EPDS and about the protest process in general.
A few EPDS-specific highlights follow.
The GAO reminds readers that “[p]rotests (with the exception of protests containing
When a small business sells products to the government under a contract designated with a manufacturing NAICS code, the small business either must be the “manufacturer” of the products, or separately qualify under the nonmanufacturer rule. The nonmanufacturer rule, in turn, requires the prime contractor to have no more than 500 employees, whereas manufacturers may fall under larger size standards–some as big as 1,500 employees.
But what about an unpopulated joint venture that doesn’t itsel
The VA cannot buy products or services using the AbilityOne List without first applying the “rule of two” and determining whether qualified SDVOSBs and VOSBs are available to bid.
Today’s decision of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in PDS Consultants, Inc. v. United States, No. 16-1063C (2017) resolves–in favor of veteran-owned businesses–an important question that has been lingering since Kingdomware was decided nearly one year ago. The Court’s decision in PDS Consultants makes clear that at
Ask any attorney, and there’s a good chance they’d agree with this statement: Intellectual property is a particularly complex area of law. Dealing with property rights in things that don’t physically exist, unsurprisingly, can result in a lot of confusion. Couple this with the labyrinthine regulations and rules concerning government contracts and procurements, and even the most experienced contractor can be left confused with a pounding headache.
To help clear up these murky waters, this pos
For federal construction projects in the United States exceeding $2,000, the Davis-Bacon Act requires contractors to pay their “laborers and mechanics” the “prevailing wage.” Typically, a federal construction contract will incorporate a wage determination which outlines the prevailing wages for the workers expected for the project. But what if you discover that you need another type of worker not listed on the wage determination?
Here are five things you should know about adding wage rates to a
On June 11, the House Armed Services Committee published its draft of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was updated June 19. Among other proposed sections impacting small business contractors which will be discussed in future blog posts, the draft reduces the monetary threshold for comprehensive Department of Defense debriefings and renews the DoD’s Mentor-Protégé Program.
Enhanced Debriefings Threshold
In section 818 of the 2018 NDAA, discussed on this blog,
The breadth and depth of protests heard by GAO may lead even a seasoned government contractor to overlook the limitations of GAO’s jurisdiction.
As one contractor recently found, the GAO generally will not consider
protests based on an allegation that the agency should not have referred an
adverse responsibility determination to the SBA for a certificate of competency
review.
We must lay the foundation for the Certificate of Competency (“COC”)
procedure before adequately analyzing t
A contractor successfully challenged an adverse size determination that found affiliation under the newly organized concern rule, by establishing that its president and chief executive officer was not a former key employee of its supposed affiliate.
In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals clarified the definition of “key employee” under the newly organized concern rule, by noting that such a former employee’s title was not conclusive—instead, to be a key employe
GAO’s bid protest window for debriefings—which closes 10 days after the required debriefing—knows very few exceptions. But what if the agency offers you a more informative post-award debriefing in place of the pre-award debriefing normally required upon your elimination from the competitive range? This option will likely improve your ability to compete for future contracts with the agency. Shouldn’t you be able to accept it without giving up your right to protest? GAO says no.
GAO’s rec
Ahh, fall. A time for football, hay rides, and returning to campus. Being in a college town, we are always reminded that students are back on campus due to the increased traffic, the homecoming parade, and the increased buzz (no pun intended) around the town. The onset of fall sometimes dredges up unwanted memories about turning in term papers and meeting all the inane requirements insisted upon by the professor.
A recent GAO opinion also brought me back to my college days. Specifically, what h
Big news broke this week as the Department of Defense released its massive (and somewhat controversial) JEDI cloud computing solicitation. But there were plenty of other developments affecting government contractors, too. Let’s take a look at some of these developments, in this week’s SmallGovCon Week in Review.
This edition highlights opportunities for small businesses under OASIS, potential changes to the acquisition process, and more.
Have a great weekend!
Federal contracting method, OA
While GAO’s bid protest process is designed to achieve the laudable goal of providing a less costly process for procurement disputes, pursuing a GAO protest is nevertheless expensive. To offset these expenses, successful GAO protesters may be reimbursed for some of their expenses incurred pursuing a protest. But what constitutes a successful protest that would entitle a protester to costs? In a recent request, GAO concluded that successfully defending against a motion to dismiss was not enough t
A former owner and officer of a large business has pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges stemming from an illegal pass-through scheme.
According to a Department of Justice press release, Thomas Harper not only conspired to evade limitations on subcontracting, but obstructed justice during a SBA size protest investigation of his company’s relationship with a putative small businesses.
The DOJ press release states that Harper is the former owner and officer of MCC Construction Company. Between
Maybe it’s happened to you: your company receives a notice of unsuccessful offeror, and your eyes pop. You can’t believe that the winner’s price is so low. “There’s no way they can successfully perform for that,” you say.
But before you file a GAO bid protest, you should carefully check the solicitation’s evaluation criteria. As one unsuccessful offeror recently learned the hard way, GAO often won’t listen to an argument that “the other guy’s price is too low.”
GAO’s decision in Un
Patent ambiguities present in the solicitation for an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity procurement must be protested prior to the close of proposal submission for the base contract—waiting to protest at the task order level may be too late.
A recent GAO decision shows that when an IDIQ solicitation contains an obvious ambiguity, the rule is “speak now or forever hold your peace.” By the time task order competitions get rolling, the chance to protest will likely be gone.
In Draeger, In
Your company has submitted a proposal for a Lowest-Priced, Technically Acceptable acquisition. To your surprise, you find out another company has submitted a technically acceptable offer with the same price. Equally surprising, the solicitation does not contain any provisions instructing the agency on how to pick from otherwise equal bids. So what is the contracting officer to do – issue an order for a standoff, a la the O.K. Corral? (For the record, we do not advise this as a viable method of c
Recently, the GAO issued a report discussing the VA’s Veterans First Program, made at the request of several members of Congress. The report focused on addressing ongoing implementation challenges regarding compliance with the Rule of Two following the Kingdomware decision.
One of the key challenges facing the VA is ensuring that SDVOSBs comply with the limitations on subcontracting. According to the GAO, the VA’s oversight needs improvement.
Many of our readers are familiar with the VA’s Ve
Joint venture partner or subcontractor? An offeror’s teaming agreement for the CIO-SP3 GWAC wasn’t clear about which tasks would be performed by joint venture partners and which would be performed by subcontractors–and the agency was within its discretion to eliminate the offeror as a result.
A recent GAO bid protest decision demonstrates that when a solicitation calls for information about teaming relationships, it is important to clearly establish which type of teaming relationship the offer
What can contractors do about unreasonable terms in an agency’s solicitation? Managing Partner Matt Schoonover walks you through the options:
View the full article
Let’s suppose that, under your contract, an agency hasn’t properly paid for your work. Or the agency took actions that caused you damages. Can you run off to the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals to register your complaint and recovery your money?
Yes . . . if you’ve taken an important preliminary step: filing a claim with the contracting officer.
Recovering money from the government is different than recovering money from, say, a commercial entity with which you contract. In the c
Counseling clients and prospective clients on a potential
bid protest, we often ask: Why would you
like to file this protest? Of course, the answer inevitably involves the discussion
of a flaw (or several) in the evaluation process that, had they not been
committed, would have resulted in a different award decision.
In its latest report, the Section 809 Panel offers another consideration: Will this protest ensure confidence in the acquisition system?
Before diving into the recommenda
Shuttering of the government (or parts of the government) following appropriations lapses has become an increasingly common phenomenon in recent years. Funding lapses interrupt the usual predictability of government operations, which is often to the detriment of both agencies and federal contractors that are left in proverbial limbo with stop work orders.
Unfortunately, unlike many other topics, the FAR does not substantively address procedures for contractors during or following a governme
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