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SmallGovCon.com

A blog by Koprince Law LLC in General

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Entries in this blog

SmallGovCon Week in Review; November 11-15, 2024

Happy Friday! We hope you had a great week and are looking forward to the weekend. We have had some beautiful Fall weather here in the Midwest and finally received some much needed rain. It’s hard to believe the holidays are right around the corner! Please visit SmallGovCon often for updates on the latest information in federal government contracting matters. We truly appreciate our readers and always strive to provide helpful content. Have a great weekend! This week in federal governme

Dialing Down: SAM Registration Not Constantly Required

As we’ve written about on the blog, protests have been decided because the offeror was not registered in SAM for the entirety of the proposal review process period. For instance, in this post, we discussed a GAO decision where GAO held that the FAR requires offerors to maintain SAM registration throughout the evaluation period, meaning from proposal submission to award of the contract. A COFC case came to the same conclusion. Well, the federal government didn’t like the result and has published

Veteran’s Day: Thank You for Your Service

Today, at SmallGovCon, we would like to take this opportunity to honor all the veterans and active-duty military for their service. The first celebration using the term Veterans Day occurred in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1947. Raymond Weeks, a World War II veteran, organized “National Veterans Day,” which included a parade and other festivities, to honor all veterans. The event was held on November 11, then designated Armistice Day. Armistice Day, commemorating the end of World War I in 1

Compensation for Professional Employees and You: GAO Sustains Where Agency Doesn’t Explain Why Proposed Decreased Compensation is Reasonable

While the federal government uses wage determinations for many occupations that contractors must abide by, things are different with professional occupations such as physicians, accountants, engineers, and (yours truly) attorneys. Contractors generally have more leeway with regard to how they pay their professional employees on a given contract. But it’s not unlimited. This is something that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) didn’t address in its evaluation for a procure

SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 4-8, 2024

Hello, blog readers! We want to extend a special thank you to all the veterans and active-duty military as we approach Veterans Day. Thank you for your service. Enjoy the weekend. It’s Friday and it’s time for another week in review. With the recent election behind us, the focus shifts to addressing major issues facing the new Congress. Also this week, SBA announced a record number of certifications for diverse-owned small businesses in FY24. SBA unveiled plans for a streamlined certificatio

Webinar Event: Legal Updates 2024 hosted by the Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship, November 20, 2024

The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship is hosting this helpful, virtual workshop on Legal Updates 2024. In this webinar, government contracting attorneys, Nicole Pottroff and John Holtz will discuss the most important legal developments for federal contractors in 2024. Specifically, we will discuss important new small business rules, updates to the 8(a) rules and application procedures, joint venture changes, updated SDVOSB certification requirements, key provisions of the recen

SBA OHA: Operating Agreements Must Clearly Demonstrate Control

A recent appeal before the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) upheld SBA’s denial of an application for a veteran-owned small business because its operating agreement gave too much control to a non-veteran owner and failed to identify a veteran as the highest officer. The decision in Facekay LLC demonstrates the importance of strict adherence to the control requirements laid out by the various SBA programs. Facekay LLC, SBA No. VSBC-388-A (Sept. 3,

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2024

Hello, Blog Readers and happy November! We hope you have had a productive month and are looking forward to finishing strong this year. It’s that time of year for looking at fall colors and going to the pumpkin patch, and handing out candy to trick or treaters. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and can get out a enjoy the fall weather in your neck of the woods. This week in federal government contracting NASA has announced a $1.8 billion COSMOS contract and tech giants are pushing for legi

Thank You, COFC Judicial Conference

I recently returned from the 35th Annual Judicial Conference for the Court of Federal Claims. I wanted to send a hearty thanks to all of the organizers of the conference, especially Judge Tapp! It was a great opportunity presenting on the topic of Private Conflicts: How the New Private Sector OCI Rules Could Impact Federal Procurement. I also thoroughly enjoyed the other presentations at the conference. For those looking for more information on this topic, here are some resources for you:

GAO Sustain: Offeror’s Failure to Follow Solicitation’s Document Preparation Instructions was Unstated Evaluation Criteria

A recent GAO decision considered whether an agency could reject an offeror’s proposal based on the offeror’s failure to follow document preparation instructions that were not explicitly stated in the solicitation. In Hometown Veterans Medical, LLC B-422751 (Oct. 11, 2024), the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) issued a request for proposals (“RFP”) from service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses for home oxygen services for patients at the VA’s Birmingham Veterans Medical Center. Th

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 21-25, 2024

Happy Friday! I just got back from presenting at the 35th Judicial Conference for the United States Court of Federal Claims. It was a great experience and I got to learn from some very smart folks. But the wheel of federal contracting keeps turning, and this week was no different. Important stories included updates from a recent OIG SBA report, a bill to modernize federal cloud procurement, and the Army seeks to cut contract award times to six months. Have a great weekend. OFPP pushing

OHA: Show me the Management, or Fail SDVOSB Certification

A recent OHA decision reminds us that it’s important to show and tell the SBA how a company seeking certification is meeting the SBA’s requirements for control of a socioeconomic company. Like many of these decisions involving SBA’s programs, it comes out of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) VetCert program. That’s because the SDVOSB program allows appeals of denials of certifications. The other programs don’t allow such broad reasons for appeals from certifications (or

Event Announcement: NAPEX Fall Conference 2024

We are excited to announce that Nicole Pottroff will be attending the Fall NAPEX conference in Washington DC and will be presenting on legal updates on October 30. The conference gives agencies and primes the opportunity to promote supplier diversity programs and learn how the APEX Accelerators can partner and assist in meeting contracting goals. The Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC) is the professional organization of and for the DoD APEX Accelerators nationwid

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 14-18, 2024

Hello, SmallGovCon readers. We hope you are enjoying some nice fall weather wherever you are, here in Kansas our temperatures are finally down in the 70s, which has been a welcome relief. Some articles we’ve highlighted this week include multiple takes on the new CMMC rule finalized by the Pentagon, and a updates on DoD spending. You can read more about these topics and news from this week in the links below.  Here’s what veterans will get for a cost-of-living increase next year  Pe

Preview Shows Changes to 8(a) Application in New SBA Portal

As many in federal contracting know, the SBA had its certification portal (certify.sba.gov) closed for upgrades for a few months. The SBA is replacing it with a new portal called MySBA Certifications which as of the writing of this blog post is now live. While it hasn’t been widely published, SBA released screenshots of this new portal, which indicate SBA is making some large changes to applications, especially for applications to the 8(a) Program. We here at SmallGovCon think it is important fo

35th Annual Judicial Conference – U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington DC

I will be presenting at the 35th Annual Judicial Conference in Washington, D.C., on October 23. This prestigious event gathers legal professionals, judges, and scholars from across the country to discuss the latest developments in the judiciary and legal system. It’s definitely an honor to be speaking at the 35th Annual Judicial Conference for the Court of Federal Claims. My topic is: Private Conflicts: How the New Private Sector OCI Rules Could Impact Federal Procurement. Hope to see yo

Agency Discretion Recertified: GAO Affirms Agency Discretion to Request Size Recertification for Task Orders

When it comes to meeting the size standards, the normal rule for a set-aside contract is simple: If you’re small at the time you submitted your initial offer for the contract, you’re small for the life of the contract. So says 13 C.F.R. § 121.404–although this could be changing in the future based on a proposed SBA rule. Furthermore, this is the general rule with set-aside IDIQs as well: If you’re small at the time of initial offer for the IDIQ, you’re small for all orders under that IDIQ. (Not

New Podcast out now with Govcon Giants

Check out my podcast recording with Eric Coffie of Govcon Giants. In this podcast, we talk about about key strategies that can help small businesses succeed. From the importance of understanding the Small Business Administration (SBA) rules to forming effective joint ventures and teaming agreements. Check out this recording and a lot of other great recordings from Govcon Giants. Thanks to Eric for the opportunity to chat and to be part of his great podcast! The post New Podcast out now with

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 7-11, 2024

Hello, SmallGovCon readers. Our thoughts go out to those effected by the hurricane, this week. We hope you are safe. Some articles we’ve highlighted this week include current trends in the GovCon market and DoD considering a faster acquisition pathway for AI. You can read more about these topics and news from this week in the links below.  GSA Unveils List of 100 Apparent Awardees on Polaris IT GWAC Small Business Pool  Lawmakers want more time off for service members  GovCon In

Are Mentor-Protégé Joint Ventures Just Too Successful, Asks SBA

SBA recently issued a proposed rule purportedly concerning the HUBZone Program and its regulations–but actually, covering a bevy of other discussions and proposed changes relating to size, SBA’s other small business socioeconomic programs, and even teaming. Specifically, regarding teaming, SBA revealed that it has apparently decided to take a deeper look into the immense success of mentor-protégé joint venture teaming. It is also requesting comments on this concern, as well as potential policy c

Back to Basics: Small Business Sole Source Awards

One of the perks of being certified in any of the SBA’s small business socioeconomic contracting programs is the fact that there is potential for a sole source award. What is a sole source award? Well, it’s a non-competitive award used when there is no expectation that two or more offerors will submit proposals, or using a dollar cap in the 8(a) program. (In this post we’re not talking about other exceptions to competition, such as only one responsible source). We most frequently see them used f

Govology Webinar: October 10, 2024 – Communicating with Government Contracting Officials: What Can (and Should) Contractors Really Say and Do? (2024 Update)

When it comes to effective communication, the government and industry often get it wrong. Misconceptions and misunderstandings abound and can prove very costly for contractors. In this webinar, government contracts attorneys Nicole Pottroff and John Holtz debunk some of the most common myths and misunderstandings held by contractors, including when and how you can communicate one-on-one with a contracting officer, who has authority to modify your contract, what to do when an unauthorized off

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Sept. 30-Oct. 4, 2024

Happy Friday and happy October! Please enjoy the Week in Review and read up on some recent updates across government contracting. Some highlights include GSA starting the COMET II contracting process, and new guidelines on AI tool procurement for federal agencies. You can read more about these topics and news from this week in the articles below. Have a great weekend! Carahsoft raid may be a wake up call for the reseller market U.S. Small Business Administration to Host 11th Annual

GAO: Small Business Rule of Two Must be based on Accurate Market Research

The small business rule of two requires agencies to restrict procurements for small businesses when there is a “a reasonable expectation of obtaining offers from two or more responsible small business concerns that are competitive in terms of fair market prices, quality, and delivery.” FAR 19.502-2. Agencies often use market research to assess whether the small business rule of two is met. But what happens when an agency amends its solicitation terms after conducting market research? Can the new

Conference Announcement: ICBS Show, Oklahoma City, October 7-9, 2024

The Indian Country Business Summit (ICBS) is hosting its annual “Diversity in Government Contracting” ICBSSHOW in Oklahoma City this month. And our very own Gregory Weber will be attending and presenting on federal contracting legal updates. Legal updates is always a great presentation. So, please stop by our table to say hello or if any questions come up after the presentation. The ICBSSHOW offers informational sessions featuring experts in government procurement, connection and networking

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