It’s the Friday before Thanksgiving, which means if you haven’t gone shopping yet, you may be facing the chaos of the grocery stores this weekend in preparation. Or, perhaps, you’re skipping the extensive meal preparation and going for something very simple (as a college student in North Carolina, I once classed it up by having Bojangles for Thanksgiving. Fantastic sweet tea, special seasoning, and no dishes!)

Even around the holidays, the world of government contracting doesn’t slow down that much. In this pre-Thanksgiving edition of SmallGovCon Week in Review, we take a look at two men facing five years in prison for fraudulently obtaining $20 million in contracts at Fort Gordon, the 2018 NDAA’s effect on GAO bid protests, new legislation intended to give equal consideration to VOSBs for contract awards, and much more.

• Two people admitted their involvement in a conspiracy to fraudulently obtain $20 million in contracts at Fort Gordon. [The Augusta Chronicle]
• Two trucking companies found guilty of Service Contract Act violations are still working at America’s largest ports. [USA Today]
• The 2018 National Defense Authorization bill includes a compromise on disputed language aimed at reducing the number of bid protests. [Government Executive] (See my take on the issue here).
• Government sources say OFPP wants agencies to set goals for using “best-in-class contracts” and implement demand management by analyzing procurement data and making decisions on how and who to buy from. [Federal News Radio]
• U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick introduced legislation aimed at giving veteran-owned small businesses equal consideration for contract awards that companies in other ownership-preference categories currently enjoy as part of various set-aside programs. [The Ripon Advance]
• A former procurement officer employed at a nuclear research and development facility of the U.S. Department of Energy was indicted for orchestrating a scheme to obtain a $2.3 million contract through fraudulent means. [U.S. Dept. of Justice]
• The American Small Business League has argued that large federal contractors mislead agencies and the public by overstating their use of small businesses as subcontractors to meet statutory goals. In U.S. District Court in San Francisco last Friday, attorneys for the advocacy group successfully pried out the previously non-public names of suppliers and other subcontractors used by Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. [Government Executive]

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