SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION Rules of Procedure Governing Cases Before the Office of Hearings and Appeals The U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”) has amended the rules of practice of its Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) to implement section 869 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 and section 1833 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017. This legislation authorizes OHA to decide Petitions for Reconsideration of Size Standards (“Size Standard Petitions”). This . . . Read More
Companies often team together to bid on government procurements in order to boost their chances of being awarded contracts and, if awarded the contracts, to provide greater support to the government than they may be able to provide on their own. While these partnerships usually begin with the best of intentions, far too often they lead to costly and disruptive disputes between the parties. The most common types of teaming agreement and subcontracting disputes involve one of the following issues: . . . Read More
A recent decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims (“Court”) confirms the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (“VA”) mandate to perform a Rule of Two analysis on all procurements, including before utilizing the AbilityOne Program. In PDS Consultants, Inc. v. United States, Case No. 16-1063C (Fed. Cl. May 30, 2017) , PDS Consultants challenged whether the VA must conduct analyze whether at least two veteran-owned small businesses (“VOSB”) are capable of performing the work at issue (also known as the “VA Rule of Two”) before procuring goods and services through the AbilityOne Program, . . . Read More
A recent bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives seeks to amend the Small Business Act to limit the way agencies take credit for contracting with small businesses that fall into several socioeconomic categories. H.R. 2362, known as the Assuring Contracting Equity Act of 2017, was introduced on May 4, 2017 and would, if passed, add a provision titled “Limitation on Number of Categories for which a Small Business May Qualify.” This provision would prevent a Federal agency from . . . Read More
Many contractors we talk to believe that cybersecurity requirements are exclusively a concern of contractors working with DoD or with highly-classified, top secret projects. While perhaps true to some degree in the past, that belief is now outdated. In recent years, the federal government has steadily expanded the reach of cybersecurity requirements imposed on contractors and contracts of all shapes and sizes, and that trend is expected to continue. As an example, one year ago this month the government implemented . . . Read More
OTHER NEWS SBA Administrator Linda McMahon Appoints Four Senior Executives, SBA PRESS RELEASE (May 25, 2017) Administrator Linda McMahon of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the appointment of four new Associate Administrators: Peter Cazamias for the Office of International Trade; Robb Wong for the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development; Allen Gutierrez for the Office of Entrepreneurial Development; and Michael Hershey for the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs. In a statement Ms. McMahon said: I am . . . Read More
The U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) Program provides opportunities for small businesses, owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, Tribes and Alaska Native Corporations, to participate on federally-assisted highway, transit, and aviation projects. In addition to setting a goal that at least 10% of such contracts go to certified DBEs, the DBE Program provides related opportunities to assist DBEs with business development. Large businesses and non-DBE eligible contractors seeking to do work on DOT-funded . . . Read More
