It’s Subcontracting Plan Review Season. Are You Prepared?

After subcontracting plan reports are due in October, SBA starts sending out letters to the firms selected for a compliance review. These letters start going out late in the year, with the compliance reviews scheduled for early in the new year. That means we are in the heart of subcontracting plan review season. Are you ready? Much like preparing for a winter storm, advance planning is critical to make it through a subcontracting compliance review. Don’t wait for the letter . . . Read More

The Weekly Update for January 22, 2016

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Payment of Subcontractors SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Final Rule Adopted for Uniform Administrative Requirements and More This week’s report follows,  click here if you would like to download a copy . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS Payment of Subcontractors DOD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to implement the section of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that requires contractors to notify the contracting officer, in writing, if the contractor pays a reduced price to a small business subcontractor, or if the contractor’s payment to a small business . . . Read More

The House Small Business Committee Releases a Spate of Small Business Legislation

On the heels of a GAO report calling for more leadership attention to be paid to SBA’s “management challenges,” a number of bills have been referred to the House Small Business Committee since the new year started, calling for more SBA reform and oversight. The following is a summary of the more significant bills introduced, signaling what the House has in store for the small business government contracting community in 2016: H.R. 4340, “Small Business Contracting and Acquisition Programs Efficiency . . . Read More

The Weekly Update for January 8, 2016

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS 2016 Adverse Effect Wage Rates Removal of Requirement to File Direct-Pay Fee Agreements With the Office of the General Counsel Network Penetration Reporting and Contracting for Cloud Services Federal Acquisition Regulation; Sole Source Contracts for Women-Owned Small Businesses Trade Agreements Thresholds Federal Acquisition Regulation; Definition of ‘‘Multiple-Award Contract’’ Defense Contractors Performing Private Security Functions Multiyear Contract Requirements SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Community Advantage Pilot Program Interest Rates This week’s report follows,  click here if you would like to download a copy . GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS 2016 Adverse Effect Wage Rates Effective December 22, 2015, the . . . Read More

DoD, GSA, and NASA Issue Interim Rule on WOSB Sole Source Authority

By Megan Connor Effective December 31, 2015, DoD, GSA, and NASA have issued an interim rule amending the FAR to implement regulatory changes made by the SBA that provide for EDWOSB/WOSB sole source authority. Implementation of these sole source procedures in the FAR ensures that contracting officers now have the tools necessary to maximize federal procurement opportunities for WOSB concerns through sole source contract awards. In general, an award under the WOSB program may be pursued on a sole source . . . Read More

Small Business Subcontracting Plans: End of Year Roundup

If you have been following the latest news on subcontracting plan requirements, you will know that the landscape has been rapidly shifting over the past year. In response to various statutory mandates from Congress, both SBA and the FAR Councils have recently introduced proposed rules which will change the already complex existing regulatory web. The end of the changes are not in sight, as Congress continues to propose new legislation addressing subcontracting plans and agencies themselves are taking the initiative . . . Read More

Small Business Goodies in the National Defense Authorization Act

Often the House and Senate Small Business Committees utilize the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to effectuate changes for small business. The NDAA must pass each year, so it is a useful vehicle upon which to attach small business provisions that may otherwise need to move through multiple congressional committees before becoming law. The NDAA for fiscal year 2016 moved through both the House and Senate and went before the conference committee. On October 7, 2015, the Senate approved . . . Read More

Timing Matters, Not Just Size When Protesting Long Term Contracts

Operating in a very competitive market, many small businesses are increasingly filing size protests to eliminate competitors against which they have lost contracts. These protests are not only filed on small business set asides but also 8(a), HUBZone, WOSB and SDVOSB set asides, as those procurements require that offerors qualify as small under the relevant size standard. Most small businesses know that size protests must be filed very quickly after receipt of a notice of proposed or actual award to . . . Read More

Constitutionality of 8(a) Program Reaffirmed

Earlier this year, a judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia reaffirmed the facial constitutionality of the 8(a) Program in response to a challenge by a small business owner, and he also rejected an argument that the program is unconstitutional because it violated the “non-delegation” doctrine. The case is Rothe Development, Inc. v. Department of Defense, No. 12-CV-0744, 2015 WL 3536271 (D.D.C. June 5, 2015). This is the second recent constitutional challenge to the 8(a) Program . . . Read More

OHA Clarifies Non-Manufacturer Rules For Procurements Conducted Under Simplified Acquisition Procedures

Last month, the SBA Office of Hearing and Appeals (“OHA”) issued a decision which has clarified that, as in the past, for procurements conducted under simplified acquisition procedures, offerors who wish to qualify as a small business under the non-manufacturer rule do not have to supply the end item of a small business. This holding arose from a change in SBA regulations which—intentionally or not—created an ambiguity with regard to the ability of an offeror to offer the end item . . . Read More