ESOPs Have Opportunity to Shape DOD Pilot Program on Sole Source Follow-On Contracts
In late 2021, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY 2022 NDAA) included a first-of-its-kind provision that authorized a pilot program through which businesses that are owned 100% by an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) could qualify for sole source awards on a follow-on contract. Of course, the devil is in the details, and this potentially historic provision merely authorized the program but included no details. The opportunity to fill in those details has arrived. The Department of Defense (DOD) recently announced that companies can . . . Read More
GSA Pauses Polaris RFPs
GSA’s Polaris RFPs are on pause after the agency received comments regarding the evaluation of joint ventures. GSA is now assessing whether changes are required to the RFPs and is temporarily pausing the RFPs until further notice. WOSBs, SDVOSBs, and HUBZone IT service providers should pause proposal activities until the assessment is completed. This assessment may be an indication that GSA is carefully considering aspects of Polaris RFPs that will hopefully be beneficial to both large and small contractors and improve . . . Read More
SBA Increases Its Size Standards, Opening More Opportunities for Winning Government Contracts
The long-awaited increase to size standards by the Small Business Administration (SBA) has arrived. On March 31, 2022, SBA issued four final rules that increase the small business size standards for a number of industries. As a result, many businesses will gain eligibility for federal small business assistance programs or retain eligibility for a longer period. These programs include SBA’s business loan programs, Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and federal procurement programs that provide targeted, set-aside opportunities for small . . . Read More
PilieroMazza Win in Game-Changing Randolph-Sheppard Decision Could Increase Food Service Attendant Contract Awards to Federal Contractors
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a notable decision on March 24, 2022, in a protest filed by PilieroMazza attorneys Katie Burrows and Matt Feinberg on behalf of J.W. Mills Management, LLC (J.W. Mills), B-420416. The decision clarifies the scope of the Randolph-Sheppard Act (RSA) and could lead to new contract award opportunities for federal contractors in the food service attendant, mess attendant, and dining facility attendant industry. Federal contractors operating in the food service attendant space should consider how this . . . Read More
HUBZone Principal Office Flexibility Ends April 1
The Small Business Administration’s HUBZone office will soon end the principal office flexibility it introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting April 1, 2022, firms will no longer be able to count employees who spend most of their time working at home as a principal office employee. HUBZone firms need to be mindful of this as they prepare for their 2022 recertification and manage their HUBZone eligibility going forward. Below, we review the changes announced by SBA and offer our recommendations for dealing . . . Read More
GSA Releases Polaris Q&A Indicating Key Changes in Upcoming RFPs
GSA recently released a Q&A in anticipation of the first two Polaris Requests for Proposals (RFPs). GSA anticipates the RFPs for Small Businesses and Women-Owned Small Businesses will be released soon, while those for the Historically Underutilized Business Zones Small Business (HUBZone) and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) pools will be released between July 1, 2022, and September 30, 2022. Some of the answers in the Q&A clarify what offerors should expect, while others continue to create ambiguity. In this client alert, . . . Read More
Government Contractors to Register for Affirmative Action Program Compliance Certification Beginning February 1, 2022
In December 2021, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) launched its Affirmative Action Program Verification Interface through a new online portal (Portal). Beginning on February 1, 2022, registration opens on the Portal, and covered prime and subcontractors are required to certify compliance of their Affirmative Action Program (AAP) by no later than June 30, 2022. Covered contractors are then required to annually certify. The Portal also provides a secure platform for scheduled contractors to submit their AAP to OFCCP during compliance evaluations. In . . . Read More
2022 NDAA Makes Significant Changes to Federal Procurement Policy
On December 27, 2021, President Biden signed the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into law, authorizing more than $700 billion in defense spending. The NDAA also contains several provisions that shape federal procurement policies and forecast areas that Congress believes warrant attention in the future. PilieroMazza examines three themes in this year’s NDAA that contractors should know to take advantage of contract opportunities and maintain compliance requirements. 1. Continued Support for Domestic Preferences and Supply Chain Security Congress sent a clear signal that it supports . . . Read More
DOD Releases CMMC 2.0 Framework Documentation
Earlier this month, the Department of Defense (DOD) released the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0 framework, along with the self-assessment guides for the new Levels 1 and 2, scoping guidance for all Levels, and other helpful tools for contractors seeking to perform self-assessments. Each of these documents is available on DOD’s CMMC website under the Documentation tab. Here are key highlights from DOD’s CMMC 2.0 Documentation for small and mid-sized defense contractors. These documents signal some major departures from the . . . Read More
NITAAC Makes Major Changes to CIO-SP4 RFP
The National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center (NITAAC) issued yet another round of significant changes to the Chief Information Officer-Solutions and Partners 4 (CIO-SP4) Request for Proposals (RFP) under Amendment 12 to the RFP. These changes, explained below, will impact offerors in mentor-protégé arrangements and may require them to submit a proposal revision. Mentors: Experience Examples Mentors in mentor-protégé arrangements, regardless of their size, may now only submit two experience examples for each task area. Prior . . . Read More