Government Asking for More Transparency on Federal Contracts Over 150K
By Dana Livne and John Shoraka For years the federal government has attempted to increase transparency in the federal marketplace and last month, U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced a bill that would require the posting online of the exact details of all government contracts worth $150,000 or more. The bill, “Contractor Accountability and Transparency Act of 2017”, seeks to implement a “machine-readable, searchable copy of each covered contract entered into by a Federal agency”. If the . . . Read More
What Every Contractor Should Know About Requests for Equitable Adjustment
By Michelle Litteken Government contractors quickly learn to expect the unexpected. While working on a construction contract, a contractor may encounter undisclosed utility lines 15 feet underground. Or, an information technology support contractor may be asked to comply with heightened security requirements without being given a contract modification. These changes increase the cost of performance and can put a small business in a precarious position. In situations like this, many contractors file a request for equitable adjustment (“REA”), seeking additional . . . Read More
CVE Extends Verification Eligibility Period: What This Means for VOSBs
Last week, the Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”) final rule extending the eligibility period for participation in the VA VetBiz Vendor Information Pages (“VIP”) Program took effect. The final rule extends the verification eligibility period from two to three years. For those service-disabled-veteran-owned small businesses and veteran-owned small businesses (“VOSBs”) wondering what they need to do to take advantage of an additional 12 months of eligibility, the answer is nothing. All VOSBs listed in the VIP database as of March . . . Read More
Understanding the Extended Surviving Spousal Protections for SDVOSBs
By Marc Langston A surviving spouse, who is not a Service-Disabled Veteran, must satisfy specific criteria in order to continue running a company as though it remained a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (“SDVOSB”). This right is not automatic, and failure to meet the eligibility criteria will prevent a surviving spouse from being able to run the decedent’s company as a SDVOSB. It is important to consider that there are two separate SDVOSB set-aside programs. The older program, the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned . . . Read More
GAO Reports On Government Contracting Trends
On March 8, 2017, GAO issued a report on government contracting trends from fiscal year (“FY”) 2011 through FY 2015. FY 2015 was the latest year for which there was complete data available at the time of GAO’s review. Using data from the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation, GAO tabulated statistics which will be of interest to government contractors. Discussed below are some of GAO’s findings. First, in FY 2015, federal agencies procured $438 billion in products and services. This . . . Read More
Are Agencies Ignoring SBA’s Application of the Nonmanufacturer Rule to Resellers of Major Commercial Software?
Early last year, on January 26, 2016, SBA issued a new requirement that IT Value Added Resellers (“ITVAR”) under the footnote/exception to NAICS Code 541519 have to comply with the nonmanufacturer rule when reselling software under that code. Thus, according to the rule, any ITVAR must provide software that is manufactured (i.e., developed) by a small business unless a waiver of the nonmanufacturer rule is requested by the contracting officer and granted by SBA for each and every ITVAR procurement. . . . Read More
SBA Size Standards Under the Microscope
?SBA’s size standards are one of the agency’s most important metrics. The size standards draw a bright line between small and large businesses for each industry by NAICS code. A firm that is below the size standard for its industry is eligible to pursue federal contracts and programs reserved for small businesses. And small businesses are also exempt from other rules that would otherwise apply to federal contractors. So how and where SBA draws the size line for each industry . . . Read More
2016 GAO Bid Protest Annual Report: Sustain Rate Hits Nine Year High, Up More Than 10 percent from 2015
By Megan Connor This article originally appeared in the First Quarter Legal Advisor. GAO recently released its annual report to Congress, which included data concerning its protest filings for the fiscal year 2016. Based on the data, 2016 was a historic year. GAO not only decided more cases on the merits in 2016 than in any prior year, dating back to 2001, but it also sustained more cases in 2016 than in any year during that same period. It is . . . Read More
Small Business Valuation — What Is It And Why Does It Matter?
By Michael A. de Gennaro Government contractors who have built successful businesses over a period of time often neglect to answer one simple question until very late in the game. The question, “What is my business worth?” has far-reaching implications and comes up in a number of scenarios, such as the sale of the contractor’s business, the creation of long-term incentive plans for employees, estate/business succession planning, and death/divorce of an owner. At least monthly, we receive a call from . . . Read More
Keep an Eye Out for Identity of Interest Affiliation
By Julia Di Vito Anyone who does business with a small business government contractor will always want to be aware of any potential bases for affiliation that might arise. However, the so-called “identity of interest” affiliation, as described in 13 C.F.R. § 121.103(f), is a particularly easy type of affiliation for a firm to have and not even realize it. It is important to be aware of the way identity of interest affiliation can be found and how to avoid . . . Read More