Through a duo of Executive Orders (EOs), issued on April 15 and 16 respectively, President Trump announced “a first-of-its-kind overhaul of Federal procurement policy.” The rewrite represents a once-in-a-generation...more
On February 19, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) denied an appeal from an unsuccessful bidder who argued the awardee was large due to an acquisition that occurred while the award was pending. OHA found that Small...more
On December 17, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published its final rule in response to its August 2024 proposed rule and the ensuing comments from the industry. The rule will have a substantial impact on the...more
On November 15, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied a protest from AtVentures, LLC, a mentor-protégé joint venture, who challenged its exclusion from consideration for award on the basis that it was able to use...more
Space has become central to protecting U.S. national security interests as Americans increasingly rely on space-based services to support everyday life. As a result, the U.S. government has bolstered investment in the space...more
11/25/2024
/ Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
National Security ,
NOAA ,
Outer Space ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Small Business ,
Technology Sector ,
Venture Capital
On August 23, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule that would make significant changes to SBA’s recertification requirements. Most notably, the rule would change when size and socioeconomic...more
The Department of Defense (DoD) has long searched for ways to foster innovation in the defense industrial base by harnessing US comparative advantages like our capital markets and American technological innovation...more
In a recent decision, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) affirmed a Small Business Administration (SBA) Area Office’s size determination and held that procedural deficiencies in a contractor’s Joint Venture Agreement...more
6/27/2024
/ Addendums ,
Appeals ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
NAICS ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
Operating Agreements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Required Documentation ,
SBA ,
Small Business
On October 5, the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) issued a joint notice (Joint Notice) with the Small Business Association (SBA) and in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD) clarifying that the...more
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), which aims to curb illicit financial activities like money laundering and other fraudulent activities, will go into effect on January 1, 2024. Consequentially, many types of businesses,...more
10/20/2023
/ Beneficial Owner ,
Corporate Transparency Act ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Crimes ,
FinCEN ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Small Business ,
Smaller Reporting Companies
On September 29, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reopened its Certify portal to new applicants seeking admittance into the SBA 8(a) program....more
On July 19, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee ruled in favor of Ultima Services Corporation, prompting the pause of new 8(a) applications and necessitating a reorganization of the program’s...more
8/24/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Eligibility ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Contractors ,
Interim Guidance ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Race Discrimination ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Women-Owned Businesses ,
WOSB
Effective May 30, 2023, a Small Business Administration (SBA) final rule made some notable changes to SBA’s 8(a) Business Development (BD) program, a valuable resource for those firms owned by socially and economically...more
On April 27, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule which, effective May 30, will make a number of changes to the SBA regulations impacting small businesses. The regulations, finalizing the proposed rule...more
5/26/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Certifications ,
Final Rules ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Notice of Non-Compliance ,
Penalties ,
Proposed Rules ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts
On December 19, 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule that would amend the SBA regulations to implement Section 870 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2020. Section 870...more
Over the last few years, the government has shifted away from lowest price technically acceptable valuations placing a larger importance on past performance. The past performance requirement can sometimes create obstacles for...more
2/21/2023
/ Bid Protests ,
Bids ,
Business Development ,
Contract Terms ,
Federal Contractors ,
GAO ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Prime Contractor ,
Small Business ,
Solicitation ,
Subcontractors
Generally, when a business is awarded a multi-year IDIQ contract, it retains its “small” business designation unless a contracting officer (CO) requires the business to recertify its size status, and has since grown larger...more
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has an interesting construction. With seemingly no competition to bring size protests and the successful completion of a previous grant before a second grant, the unusual...more
1/13/2023
/ Appeals ,
Clawbacks ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Contractors ,
Funding ,
Joint Venture ,
Reauthorization ,
SBA ,
SBIRs ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) is a historic investment in our nation’s roads, bridges, railways, airports and transportation systems. The bill appropriates $550 billion to physical infrastructure projects,...more
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Mentor-Protégé program (MPP) was designed to strengthen the capabilities of small businesses, increase their participation in the DoD contract pool, and contribute to “the diversity and...more
On July 6, the SBA issued a proposed rule that would implement Section 862 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 establishing a government-wide certification process for Veteran Owned Small Businesses...more
7/27/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Eligibility ,
NDAA ,
Ownership Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business ,
Veterans ,
VOSB
On June 6, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule modifying its methodology for calculating the size of small businesses using an employee-based size standard and authorizes businesses participating...more
6/27/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Eligibility ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Loans ,
Final Rules ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
SBA ,
Small Business
The Court of Federal Claims (COFC) recently affirmed that agencies are required to apply the “Rule of Two” to all federal acquisitions in its decision of Tolliver Grp., Inc. v. United States. Further, agencies must give a...more
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims (COFC) decision in HWI Gear, Inc. v. United States highlights the importance of reviewing a solicitation to determine if the text of Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 52.219-28 is included...more
In October, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a final rule entitled “Consolidation of Mentor-Protégé Programs and Other Government Contracting Amendments,” which went into effect on November 16, 2020....more