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FAR Council Removes Rule on Small Business Orders

A couple FAR notices have removed proposed SBA rules relating to orders on multiple award contracts. This withdrawal seems to have the affect of decreasing the overall application of the small business Rule of Two, as discussed here. However, it only impacts the application of the rule of two to orders under multiple award contracts that were not restricted to small businesses. So, it’s impact is relatively narrow. Protests of Orders Under Certain Multiple-Award Contracts In this no
SmallGovCon.com

Back to Basics: Interested Parties

Imagine you’ve submitted a bid for a procurement that you believe your company is a shoo-in for. Nobody comes close to the experience and skills your company brings to the table. A while later, you learn that the new company down the street was awarded the contract. There clearly must be a mistake. The awardee doesn’t have half the experience your company has in this industry. Feeling wronged, you decide to file a bid protest questioning the award at the Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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SmallGovCon Week in Review: June 3-6, 2025

Happy Friday! Hope you are ready for a great weekend! Lot’s going on the federal government contracting world this week. This included updates on the FAR overhaul, as well as budget cuts at SBA that could leave SCORE and other programs in trouble if budget cuts go through. Native American programs protected from Trump’s anti-DEI order, agencies say Trump budget proposes nearly $1B in cuts to tribal programs HUBZone Program Updates and Clarifications, and Clarifications to Other
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FAR 52.222-46 Again? GAO Sustains Protest that Agency Price Evaluation was Unreasonable

Agencies get a lot of discretion when it comes to evaluating proposals. We’ve explored several different cases where GAO affirmed this principle. However, this principle is not absolute. Contrary to what some might think, there are limits on an agency’s discretion when it comes to how it evaluates proposals. Recently, the Air Force was reminded of this fact in a GAO protest concerning a price evaluation. We explore that decision here. On March 24, 2024, the Air Force issued a solicitatio
SmallGovCon.com

COFC: Ostensible Subcontractor Rule for General Construction Still Looks at all Circumstances 

As frequent SmallGovCon readers know, the Small Business Administration’s ostensible subcontractor rule can be tricky to navigate. The rule requires contractors not to rely too heavily on a subcontractor in the performance of a contract set aside under an SBA socioeconomic program, but what constitutes relying too heavily can be confusing for small business contractors. Without a clear measure of how reliant is too reliant, businesses have to worry that they may be denied an award or even worse,
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 26-30, 2025

Happy Friday! The sun is shining here in the Midwest and after several days of rain, June is upon us. Time to get the lawn mower started this weekend. We hope you have some fun plans for the summer, other than mowing the lawn, with friends and family. This week in federal government news, catch up on a potential small business rule of two statute, additional contract-cutting, and GSA becoming a central contracting power player. Protecting Small Business Competitions Act of 2025
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Be Careful, FAR Updates Generally Not Retroactive, Says COFC

The United States Court of Federal Claims (COFC) produced another decision focused on SAM registration and related FAR updates. We previously discussed the changes to the FAR no longer requiring constant SAM registration to be awarded a contract. We have also blogged on a recent COFC decision regarding solicitation amendments based on the new FAR rule. But, what happens if the old FAR rule, such as one regarding SAM registration, is still in a solicitation and the agency does not amend the sol
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 19-23, 2025

Happy Friday, SmallGovCon readers! Hope you had a great week and have some nice plans for the long weekend. Memorial Day, originally known as Decoration Day, originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971. Unofficially, it marks the beginning of the summer season. To all those that served and or on active duty, thank you for your service! Have a wonderful weekend. This week in federal government contracting news, there are updates on an increas
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Switcheroo – FAR Change Allows Agency to Amend Solicitation to Broaden Eligibility for Procurement 

This past November, we observed a change in the rules regarding SAM registration requirements for procurements. Prior to this rule change, both GAO and the Court of Federal Claims (COFC) had found that the FAR requires offerors to maintain SAM registration throughout the evaluation period for a procurement. With the rule change, FAR 52.204-7 (the regulation at issue) now only requires that an offeror be registered at the time of offer submission and at the time of contract award. A lapse in SAM
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Why File: A Once 8(a), Always 8(a) Protest

As our SmallGovCon readers might know, the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program is often thought of as the golden goose of federal government contracting, at least for small businesses. And it’s true, in some respects. While it is the most difficult of the SBA’s socioeconomic programs to gain admittance to, if admitted, you stand to reap large benefits such as access to competitive and sole-source contracts. And another SBA rule limits the ability to move contracts away from 8(a) Program set-
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SmallGovCon Week in Review: May 12-16, 2025

Happy Friday! You’ve made it through another week, and your reward is the Week in Review. This week saw some interesting stories: VA is getting a new top watchdog, there is a new budget proposal, and GAO is highlighting over $100M in potential savings from consolidating IT systems. You can read more about these topics in the articles below. Have a great weekend! Trump picks senior VA advisor to serve as top department watchdog White House budget plan gives 4% boost for VA amid other
SmallGovCon.com

Help Please: SBA Asking for Input on Mentor-Protege and Joint Venture Issues

SBA has indicated that it will be holding a tribal consultation meeting in June. Among the topics to be discussed will be the 8(a) Program and SBA Mentor-Protege Program and joint ventures. This request is interesting because it reveals a little bit about what the SBA is thinking with regards to the Mentor-Protégé Program and joint venture issues. While it is especially relevant for entity-owned 8(a) Program firms, it is also revealing for other small businesses. Here are a few key compo
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ChatGPT is Not Your Lawyer (Even If it Sounds Like One), Recent GAO Case Confirms

The world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a growing topic that many are eager to share their opinions on. There are people excited to witness this advancement of technology and are eager to implement AI programs into their lives and/or businesses to optimize efficiency. Others are uneasy about the advancements of AI, fearing replaceability or changes in the workforce. Or, there are those who have read one too many science fiction novels and believe that this is the beginning of the end.  
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: April 5-9, 2025

Happy Friday and Happy Mother’s Day weekend! Mother’s Day is a time to celebrate the incredible strength, love, and dedication that mothers show every day. Take a moment to say thank you, share a memory, or simply let her know how much she means. This week in federal government contracting news included stories about the upcoming federal budget and updates to the National Defense Strategy. White House eyes reconciliation to get 2026 budget increase The Latest: White House unvei
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No More HUBZone Price Preference for Most Mentor-Protege Joint Ventures

An advantage of being a HUBZone Program contractor is the aptly-named HUBZone price evaluation preference. The possibility of utilizing that price preference has been a great reason for contractors to form joint ventures with HUBZone businesses. However, contractors need to be aware that SBA has effectively eliminated the usage of price preference within certain joint ventures. The HUBZone Program is one of the many socioeconomic certifications administered by the SBA, with many advantag
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SBA Defines “Offer” for Purposes of 180-Day Rule After Small Business Acquisition

SBA and the FAR contain rules governing a situation where a small business is purchased by another entity and becomes a large business. SBA has recently updated those rules in a new regulation found at 13 C.F.R. § 125.12. In particular, there is a special scenario where a small business has submitted an offer on a small-business procurement and then is acquired within 180 days after that offer. But how does SBA define an “offer”? A recent SBA decision answers that question. In Secise, LL
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Govology Webinar Announcement! Small Business Size Standards and Affiliation: Lessons for Every Federal Contractor, May 15, 2025, 1:00pm EDT

For small business set-aside contracts, including socioeconomic set-asides like the 8(a) program, a federal contractor must meet the SBA’s size standards. These size standards vary by industry and solicitation and are based on either average annual receipts or the number of employees. But size alone doesn’t tell the whole story. Many small businesses are surprised to learn that they could be deemed affiliated with other entities based on factors such as ownership, management, family relationship
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 24-28, 2025

Hello! It’s Friday and time for another week in review. This time of year brings both the ripping up of March Madness brackets and the opening day of baseball–hope springs eternal! And for non-sports ball folks, we hope that spring is bringing all of our readers both renewed energy and productivity. This week saw a number of interesting stories, including proposed consolidating of procurement with GSA and changes to GSA schedules, along with updates on termination of some contracts.
SmallGovCon.com

OHA Says: Show me the Money! (in Ostensible Subcontracting Review)

Size and status protests, which are reviewed by the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), are far less common than GAO protests which protest an evaluation aspect of a solicitation or award. But when they are used they can be a powerful tool to keep contracting dollars intended for small businesses to stay with small businesses. In the case of Winergy, LLC, OHA takes a look at an award intended for SDVOSBs, to determine if the awardee is in compliance with the ostensible subcontractor rule
SmallGovCon.com

Webinar Event! Top 21 Legal Mistakes in Federal Government Contracting, April 9, 2025, 11:00-12:00pm CDT

Federal contracting rules and laws are complicated, and the rules aren’t always intuitive. Many contractors make legal mistakes routinely, involving everything from completing SAM profiles to calculating small business size to communicating with government contracting officers. Federal government contracts attorneys, Shane McCall & Annie Birney of Koprince McCall Pottroff, will discuss the top 21 most common legal mistakes that contractors make time and time again. You will learn what these
SmallGovCon.com

SmallGovCon Week in Review: March 17-21, 2025

Happy Spring! It’s been a long, cold winter here in the Midwest. But we are starting to see many signs of spring this week. I just got back from a spring break trip to Gulf Shores and Fort Morgan, Alabama and this picture was taken on the beach there. It was a great time to recharge the batteries so I could get back to staying up to date on federal contracting news. This week in federal government contracting news saw stories including consolidating a number of multiple award contracts under
SmallGovCon.com

A Look at the Duty of Good Faith and Fair Dealing (Part 1)

The duty of good faith and fair dealing in contract law is, admittedly, a bit poorly named. It does not require that a party act in bad faith to breach it. You do not need to act nefariously to run afoul of it. But then the question arises: What is it? How does one breach it? This was (among other things) a question explored in a recent Court of Federal Claims decision regarding an Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract. We will look at that decision’s review of the duty of good fait
SmallGovCon.com

Dealing with Contract Alterations and Modifications Due to Changes in the Administration

There are many questions facing contractors during this time of change and disruption based on new initiatives from the Trump Administration and the impact on the federal government’s role buying from federal contractors. One of the biggest questions is what can be done if the government modifies a contract, cancels work, or reschedules the performance of work. In that situation, it’s important to understand both the impacts on the prime contractor and any subcontractors. Here are some