PilieroMazza submits final comments to SBA

Comments, Publications 04.03.15

PilieroMazza submitted comments regarding the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (“SBA”) proposed rule of December 29, 2014, regarding the implementation of a statutory mandate for the performance requirements applicable to small business and socioeconomic program set aside contracts and small business subcontracting. The Proposed Rule is designed to implement section 1651 of the National Defense Authorization Act (“NDAA”) of 2013, which changes the limitations on subcontracting for full or partial small business and socio-economic program set-aside contracts and small business subcontracting. Additionally, . . . Read More

Late is not Always Late: The Government Control Exception for Late Proposals

Blog 03.31.15

By Julia Di Vito A common nightmare of government contractors probably plays out like this: you spend a significant amount of time and resources preparing a robust proposal in response to a solicitation, you are sure your firm is the most qualified to do the work and can provide the best value to the government, you submit your proposal electronically before the deadline and then—to your horror—the agency rejects your proposal because it is “late.” If this scenario happens to . . . Read More

House Bill Proposes Improvements to Small Business Contracting Policies

Blog 03.30.15

By Megan Connor The House Small Business Committee approved legislation on March 25, 2015 to ensure more small businesses can compete for federal contracts and help save taxpayer money. H.R. 1481, The Small Contractors Improve Competition Act of 2015 , proposes a series of common sense improvements to small business contracting policies to promote increased competition, a healthier industrial base, and a more cost-effective federal procurement process. The bill is the result of a series of hearings examining small business contracting policies, including a full committee hearing in February and . . . Read More

GSA Proposes to Amend GSAR for Reporting of Transactional Data and Prices Paid by Ordering Activities

Blog 03.25.15

By Katie Flood On March 4, 2015, the General Services Administration (GSA) issued a Proposed Rule to amend the GSA’s Acquisition Regulations. The rule outlines a plan to adopt clauses requiring vendors to report transactional data from orders and prices paid by ordering activities. This includes orders placed against FSS contracts & non-FSS contract vehicles, GWACs, and IDIQ contracts. The Proposed Rule signals a shift away from GSA’s current price enforcement mechanism, the Price Reductions Clause, in favor of a . . . Read More

Your “Form” Teaming Agreement: Enforceable Contract or an “Agreement to Agree”?

Blog 03.24.15

Teaming agreements have become virtually universal in the world of government contracting, and their use is recognized and promoted in the Federal Acquisition Regulation. Given the prevalence of teaming agreements, it is our experience that many government contractors have developed a “form” teaming agreement, as they have with other often-used documents, such as form subcontracts. Typical provisions included in a teaming agreement often include: Allocations of a specific percentage of the work share to each team member; A pledge of . . . Read More

Seminar with SBA Speaker on Recent Proposed Rules

Blog 03.20.15

SBA recently released two long-awaited and significant new proposed rules—one on changes to the Mentor-Protégé program and the other on the Limitations on Subcontracting. The Mentor-Protégé proposed rule will establish a new mentor-protégé program available to all small businesses, while the other will change the way small businesses determine compliance with the limitations on subcontracting. Both proposed rules include a number of other potential changes to SBA’s small business programs, including the rules pertaining to joint ventures, affiliation, applications for . . . Read More

GAO Allows New Company to Rely Upon Owner’s Personal Past Performance

Blog 03.18.15

By: Isaias “Cy” Alba, IV

Newly-organized small businesses often struggle to establish adequate past performance to successfully compete in the federal marketplace. Fortunately, in the matter of Recogniti, LLP, B-410658 (January 21, 2015), GAO ruled that an agency could rely on the past performance of an offeror’s owner, rather than solely on the company’s past performance. In the Recogniti case, the awardee submitted its winning proposal after being in business for only eight months. As part of that proposal, under the past performance section, the . . . Read More