Welcome to another edition of the SmallGovCon Week in Review. We hope that our SmallGovCon readers have a great and relaxing weekend. While the kids may be out of school, the government sure isn’t, and it pays to stay on top of the latest in federal contracting.
This week in federal government contracting, key stories included the continued consolidation of work with GSA, including cancellation of two large IDIQ procurements in order to utilize GSA vehicles instead.
Continue reading…In recent years, the Small Business Administration’s small business contracting goals have been on an upswing, with the requirements growing beyond the statutorily required minimums in an effort to encourage federal agencies to increase awards to small businesses, especially disadvantaged businesses. That is, until now. With the current administration’s focus on “Ending Radical And Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” or Executive Order 14151, there has been a sharp decrease to the small disadvantaged business contracting goals set for federal agencies, but an increase to many of the agencies’ overall small business contracting goals. Read on to learn more about these changes, as well as some potential impacts of the new small business contracting goals.
Continue reading…Recently, and with very little fanfare, the SBA released its Small Business Search system (SBS), replacing the Dynamic Small Business Search (DSBS) system that had been in use for a number of years. Per the SBA, existing business profiles have been migrated to this new platform. However, it is a good idea to take a look and see what has been transferred over to be sure that all information for your company has been properly moved over. We’re going to take a quick look at this new system and how to address some common issues.
Continue reading…Many individuals who have gone through SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program (the 8(a) Program) will tell you that the application process is not for the faint of heart. One of the most time-consuming, and often frustrating hurdles of the application is the Social Disadvantage Narrative (or SDN).
Applicants are asked to revisit painful moments where they experienced discrimination. Sharing these deeply personal experiences is what makes it so upsetting for an applicant when SBA pushes back on their narrative – or worse, when SBA questions the bias, finding “legitimate alternative grounds” for the mistreatment.
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Happy 4th of July! We hope that our SmallGovCon readers have a happy and safe holiday. This is a good time to remember that this country would be a far different place had we not achieved independence from the United Kingdom in the manner that we did. And maintaining the independence of this country takes everyone working together and the strength of our government to support the people’s independence and sovereignty. Federal government workers and contractors are crucial to maintaining our country. So raise a glass to them this holiday!
SBA has announced that it will be auditing the 8(a) Program in a recent press release entitled: “Administrator Loeffler Orders Full-Scale Audit of 8(a) Contracting Program.” 8(a) Participants and former Participants should be aware that SBA will be focusing on a review of contracts issued under the 8(a) Program.
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Happy Friday and happy summer, everyone! Things are really heating up here in the Midwest as well as the rest of the country. But the heat does not mean the WIR takes a week off. Rather, the news is just as hot off the press as is the weather.
This week in federal government contracting saw updates on a GAO budget cut, AI led budget cuts, and increased review of contracts by agency heads.
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