FEDERAL AGENCIES
“VA Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Guidelines.” Federal Register, July 12, 2017. Retrieved from federalregister.gov.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) published a final rule in the Federal Register revising the required re-verification of ownership and control of veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs) as well as service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs). The VA will now re-verify SDVOSB/VOSB every three years, rather than every two years.
“GSA releases statement on FBI Headquarters.” GSA News Release, July 11, 2017. Retrieved from gsa.gov.
The General Services Administration (GSA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) cancelled the procurement for the new FBI headquarters consolidation project. The cancellation of the project does not minimize the need for a new FBI headquarters, rather the fiscal year 2017 budget was not appropriated the full funding requested for this project. GSA and FBI will work together to address the space requirements of the FBI.
“GSA and VA Collaborate to Make it Easier for VA Buyers to Identify Verified Vendors.” GSA News Release, July 10, 2017. Retrieved from gsa.gov.
GSA and the VA have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) making it easier for VA acquisition professionals to access VA-verified SDVOSB and VOSBs when purchasing from GSA and VA managed Federal Supply Schedules. Under the MOU, SDVOSB and VOSB listed in the VA’s Vender Information Pages (VIP) database will be listed in GSA’s VA Advantage with an icon showing this special status.
CAPITOL HILL
“Risch, Peters Introduce Legislation to Improve Awareness of Employee Stock Ownership Plans.” U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, July 12, 2017. Retrieved from sba.senate.gov.
Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Jim Risch (R-ID) introduced bipartisan legislation to increase awareness of Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) as an employee ownership model for businesses. The bill intends to use SCORE chapters to provide information for small business owners regarding ESOP.
Legislation passes House Small Business Committee, July 12, 2017.
The House Small Business Committee approved two pieces of legislation to amend the Small Business Act. The following bills are placed on the Union Calendar.
- H.R. 2364, Investing in Main Street Act of 2017- will increase the amount that financial institutions may invest in small business investment companies (SBICs), increasing the limit up to 15%.
- H.R. 2056, Microloan Modernization Act of 2017 – will raise the microloan lending limit from $5 million to $6 million and provide flexibility to the 25/75 rule which restricts the amount of pre-loan technical assistance a microloan intermediary can offer to their small business.
“Chairman Chabot Welcomes Rep. Ralph Norman to the Small Business Committee.” U.S. House Small Business Committee, July 10, 2017. Retrieved from smallbusiness.house.gov.
Congressman Ralph Norman (SC-05) has joined the House Small Business Committee. The real estate developer and former state lawmaker was appointed to the Small Business Committee on June 27, 2017. Rep. Norman will serve on the Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce and the Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulations.