Dialing Down: SAM Registration Not Constantly Required

As we’ve written about on the blog, protests have been decided because the offeror was not registered in SAM for the entirety of the proposal review process period. For instance, in this post, we discussed a GAO decision where GAO held that the FAR requires offerors to maintain SAM registration throughout the evaluation period, meaning from proposal submission to award of the contract. A COFC case came to the same conclusion. Well, the federal government didn’t like the result and has published an interim rule to remedy it.

In a recent interim rule effective November 12, 2024, the FAR is being updated to clarify that “the offeror must be registered at time of offer submission and at time of contract award, but would not be required to be registered at every moment in between those two points.”

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 4-8, 2024

Hello, blog readers! We want to extend a special thank you to all the veterans and active-duty military as we approach Veterans Day. Thank you for your service. Enjoy the weekend.

It’s Friday and it’s time for another week in review. With the recent election behind us, the focus shifts to addressing major issues facing the new Congress. Also this week, SBA announced a record number of certifications for diverse-owned small businesses in FY24. SBA unveiled plans for a streamlined certification process in FY25, aimed at reducing bureaucratic barriers for small firms. SBA also issued a proposed rule to expand the small business rule of two.

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Webinar Event: Legal Updates 2024 hosted by the Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship, November 20, 2024

The Catalyst Center for Business & Entrepreneurship is hosting this helpful, virtual workshop on Legal Updates 2024. In this webinar, government contracting attorneys, John Holtz and Gregory Weber will discuss the most important legal developments for federal contractors in 2024. Specifically, we will discuss important new small business rules, updates to the 8(a) rules and application procedures, joint venture changes, updated SDVOSB certification requirements, key provisions of the recent National Defense Authorization Act, recent cases pertinent to federal contractors, and more. Hope you can join us! Register here.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 28-November 1, 2024

Hello, Blog Readers and happy November! We hope you have had a productive month and are looking forward to finishing strong this year. It’s that time of year for looking at fall colors and going to the pumpkin patch, and handing out candy to trick or treaters. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and can get out a enjoy the fall weather in your neck of the woods.

This week in federal government contracting NASA has announced a $1.8 billion COSMOS contract and tech giants are pushing for legislation to streamline federal cloud procurement, aligning with the GSA’s advocacy for simpler cloud purchasing and value-based contracting. You can read more about these topics in the articles below, as well as other federal contracting news. Enjoy!

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Thank You, COFC Judicial Conference

I recently returned from the 35th Annual Judicial Conference for the Court of Federal Claims. I wanted to send a hearty thanks to all of the organizers of the conference, especially Judge Tapp! It was a great opportunity presenting on the topic of Private Conflicts: How the New Private Sector OCI Rules Could Impact Federal Procurement. I also thoroughly enjoyed the other presentations at the conference.

For those looking for more information on this topic, here are some resources for you:

SmallGovCon Week in Review: October 21-25, 2024

Happy Friday! I just got back from presenting at the 35th Judicial Conference for the United States Court of Federal Claims. It was a great experience and I got to learn from some very smart folks. But the wheel of federal contracting keeps turning, and this week was no different. Important stories included updates from a recent OIG SBA report, a bill to modernize federal cloud procurement, and the Army seeks to cut contract award times to six months. Have a great weekend.

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OHA: Show me the Management, or Fail SDVOSB Certification

A recent OHA decision reminds us that it’s important to show and tell the SBA how a company seeking certification is meeting the SBA’s requirements for control of a socioeconomic company. Like many of these decisions involving SBA’s programs, it comes out of the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) VetCert program. That’s because the SDVOSB program allows appeals of denials of certifications. The other programs don’t allow such broad reasons for appeals from certifications (or at least have restrictions on them).

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