How Loans Can Impact Size and Status
It’s protest season. Or, maybe it is always protest season. In any event, the best defense for a size or status protest is always to be prepared before the protest is filed. That means regularly assessing potential affiliations that could affect your size and status. With that in mind, I want to share some information about how affiliation can arise through loans. Specifically, loans from a private party (i.e., an individual or a company, not a bank). SBA . . . Read More
The Weekly Update September 15, 2017
CAPITOL HILL “Serving Small Businesses: Examining the Effectiveness of HUBZone Reforms” House Small Business Committee Press Release, September 13, 2017. Retrieved from smallbusiness.house.gov The House Small Business Committee heard from small businesses within the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program. Specifically, the Committee heard testimony on H.R. 3294, the “HUBZone Unification and Business Stability Act,” introduced by Ranking Member Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) and Chairman Steve Chabot (R-OH). SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION “SBA Awards $5 Million in PRIME Grants . . . Read More
The Weekly Update September 8, 2017
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Department of Veterans Affairs Withdrawal of Proposed Rule. Federal Register, September 1, 2017. Retrieved from federalregister.gov The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a rule in the Federal Register on November 6, 2015, 80 FR 68795, which proposed amending its regulations governing its Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Verification Program. The proposed rule sought to clarify the eligibility requirements for businesses to obtain “verified” status, added and revised definitions, reordered requirements, redefined ‘‘control,’’ and provided explanations for information on VA’s . . . Read More
The Weekly Update August 21, 2017
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS “Industry Experts Advise GovCon Firms to Prepare for Possible Gov Shutdown.” ExecutiveGov, August 16, 2017. Retrieved from executivegov.com An ExecutiveGov article from August 16, 2017 analyzes the effects of a looming government shutdown on federal contractors. Expert panelists have advised that it is essential for government contractors to understand the nature of their contracts ahead of a shutdown. Proactively touching base with your contracting officer is the first step to preventing any confusion during a shutdown, as contracting . . . Read More
Subcontractor Size Status Representations – Not Identical to Rules Governing Prime Contractors
If you are a prime contractor with a small business subcontracting plan, you may wonder “when” a small business subcontractor should render its size representation, and what are the subcontractor’s obligations to rerepresent its size status, such as after a merger or acquisition. Both the SBA size regulations and the FAR are clear that a subcontractor’s representation of its size status at the time it submits its offer for the subcontract governs the subcontractor’s size status for the subcontract. Thus, subcontractors’ size . . . Read More
The Weekly Update August 4, 2017
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION “SBA Launches New HUBZONE Maps and Partners with U.S. Digital Service to Streamline and Enhance Online Services for Small Businesses” U.S. Small Business Administration Press Release, July 31, 2017. Retrieved from sba.gov The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that it has launched a new Historically Underutilized Business Zones map . The HUBZone map is the first step in the modernization effort of SBA’s federal contracting programs. SBA has partnered with the U.S. Digital Service to streamline and enhance online services for small . . . Read More
Do I Need to Recertify My Company’s Size for this Task Order?
In the small business government contracting world, one of biggest advantages to winning a GWAC, like Alliant, CIO-SP3, OASIS or SEWP, is that you will be considered a small business for the contract and any orders awarded to you, despite your natural growth. This is because the general rule is that a contractor’s size for purposes of a multiple award contract is established at the date of proposal with price. Effectively, a contractor is locked in as a small business . . . Read More
The Importance of a Carefully Drafted Work Share Provision
Subcontracts contain a number of important provisions that shape the relationship between a prime and its subcontractor. However, there is one that overshadows the rest in terms of its significance to the parties’ agreement: work share. The work share provision dictates the amount and types of work the subcontractor will perform. In addition, it is through the work share provision that the parties decide how best to divide the work between themselves to achieve the agency’s objective. Given its importance . . . Read More
The Weekly Update July 21, 2017
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING “Proposed Information Collection Request; Federal Contractor Veterans’ Employment Report VETS-4212.” Federal Register, July 18, 2017. Retrieved from federalregister.gov . The Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) issued a notice soliciting public comments concerning a request to extend the currently approved VETS-4214 information collection form. Federal contractors and subcontractors track and report the number of employees in their workforces, by job category and hiring location, who belong to the specified categories of protected veterans. This information is sent annually to the . . . Read More
The Weekly Update July 14, 2017
FEDERAL AGENCIES “VA Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Guidelines.” Federal Register, July 12, 2017. Retrieved from federalregister.gov . Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a final rule in the Federal Register revising the required re-verification of ownership and control of veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) as well as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). The VA will now re-verify SDVOSB/VOSB every three years, rather than every two years. “GSA releases statement on FBI Headquarters.” GSA News Release, July 11, 2017. Retrieved from gsa.gov. The . . . Read More