The Weekly Update for April 5, 2019
HEARING ON THE SMALL BUSINESS RUNWAY EXTENSION ACT PilieroMazza’s Megan Connor testified at the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure’s hearing on March 26, 2019, concerning the implementation of the Small Business Runway Extension Act (H.R. 6330) (the “Act”). The Act was signed into law in December 2018 and was designed to help small businesses successfully bridge the gap between competing in the small business space and the open marketplace against larger companies by changing the time period . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for March 29, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense released a class deviation , effective immediately, that implements section 1006 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019. The class deviation prescribes that all contracting officers shall use the clause prescribed in the attachment to the class deviation when contracting with accounting firms providing financial statement auditing or audit remediation services to the Department of Defense in support of the audits required under 31 U.S.C. § 3521. The Office . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for March 22, 2019
HEARING ON THE SMALL BUSINESS RUNWAY EXTENSION ACT The House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure is holding a hearing on Tuesday, March 26, 2019, at 10:00 a.m., concerning the implementation of the Small Business Runway Extension Act (H.R. 6330) (the “Act”). The Act was signed into law in December 2018 and was designed to help small businesses successfully bridge the gap between competing in the small business space and the open marketplace against larger companies by changing the . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for March 15, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The Congressional Research Service issued a report providing an overview of small business contracting. The report describes the various federal programs, requirements, procurement officers, and procurement offices involved in promoting federal contracting and subcontracting with small businesses, small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs), firms participating in the SBA’s “8(a) Program,” Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses, women-owned small businesses (WOSBs), and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). The report also examines several federal requirements and authorities in promoting contracting and subcontracting . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for March 8, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the United States, testified before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs about the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) report on high-risk areas. Mr. Dodaro’s testimony explained that the GAO’s high-risk program has focused attention on government operations with greater vulnerabilities to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, or that are in need of transformation to address economy, efficiency, or effectiveness challenges. The GAO’s 2019 High Risk Report, among other things, identified two . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for March 1, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The Department of Defense (DoD) updated its list of product categories for which the Federal Prison Industries’ (FPI) share of the DoD market is greater than 5%, as required by statute. The product categories and the products within each of the identified product categories must be procured using competitive procedures in accordance with the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) 208.602-70. Contracting officers must consider a timely offer from FPI for any of the product categories on the . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for February 22, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The Government Accountability Office (GAO) sustained a protest filed by Ekagra Partners, LLC challenging the terms of a request for proposal (RFP) issued by the General Services Administration (GSA). In its protest, Ekagra Partners argued the solicitation for the OASIS Small Business on-ramp, which included terms that improperly restricted competition by limiting the ways in which a small business joint venture could form teams to submit a proposal. The GAO found that the solicitation’s limitation on the ability of . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for February 15, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The General Services Administration (GSA) implemented a new process in SAM that allows non-federal entity registrants to submit common federal government-wide Representations and Certifications for financial assistance. The procurement Representations and Certifications have not changed. Non-federal entities creating new SAM registrations and existing non-federal entities completing their annual SAM registration renewals will be required to review and certify their financial assistance Certifications and Representations before their registration can be activated. Registration in SAM is required prior to receipt of . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for February 8, 2019
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a series of workshops geared to help Native American small business communities with technical assistance and business development. The SBA will participate in the workshops by providing information and access to products and services that are available. The workshops will focus on increased financial literacy and outreach initiatives to enhance the use of the SBA’s financing programs, counseling, and business development services. The SBA and other federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department . . . Read More
The Weekly Update for February 1, 2018
GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING According to a Washington Technology article, just because government agencies reopened after five weeks of a shutdown does not mean things return to business as usual. In fact, the article continues, service providers and other market observers advise that patience and empathy will both be virtues in this situation. Generally speaking, the 800,000 furloughed federal civilian employees were not allowed to check email or telephone messages during the shutdown, which includes many employees responsible for processing invoices to . . . Read More