The SBA has issued a new proposed rule addressing both the Historically Underutilized Business Zone
(HUBZone) Program and other small business updates. It is titled: “HUBZone Program Updates and Clarifications, and Clarifications to Other Small Business Programs.” In this post, we’ll provide an overview of some of the main highlights of the proposed rule, and will do a deeper dive on some aspects of the regulation in later posts.
Category Archives: Statutes and Regulations
Supreme Court Weighs in on Deference to Agencies: What the End of Chevron Deference Means for Federal Contractors
On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 144 S. Ct. 2244 (2024). It was a pretty notable news story as the case overturned the 1984 case of Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, ending what has been called “Chevron deference.” This actually has many implications for federal contractors and how they interact with the federal government. Today, we’ll generally explore what this decision means for federal contractors.
Continue readingFederal Circuit Decision: Slightly Opens Protest Door to Non-Offerors
Lately, we’ve seen a boom in protests being brought to the United States Court of Federal Claims (COFC) in lieu of protests brought at the Government Accountability Office (GAO). And it appears that the recent decision in Percipient.AI, Inc. v. United States, 2023-1970 (June 7, 2024) may have just set the course for even more. But the case here didn’t start with an offeror under a solicitation. Instead, it was brought by a commercial software company, Percipient.AI, Inc. (Percipient), who challenged the government’s acquisition of custom software at the Court of Federal Claims and then landed right in the lap of United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (Federal Circuit).
Continue readingCommon Misconceptions: SBA’s Mentor-Protégé Program (Part I – MPP JVs & Affiliation Shield)
The SBA’s Small Business Mentor-Protégé Program (MPP) is arguably one of the federal government’s most successful undertakings when it comes to supporting our nation’s small business policies, economy, and contracting goals. It fosters the development of small business protégés, allowing many different forms of mentor assistance. It includes opportunity for eligible protégés and their mentors to joint venture (JV) for set-aside contracts—often otherwise off-limits to mentors that don’t qualify for the set-aside status/size standard and/or to protégés incapable of competing for or performing such contracts on their own. MPP JV awards may also incentivize federal government customers—simultaneously getting closer to meeting their set-aside quotas and getting the know-how, qualifications, resources, and personnel of more experienced (typically larger) contractors.
While it’s easy to see why this program enjoys immense popularity amongst small and large businesses alike, confusion consistently shrouds SBA’s MPP, nevertheless (hence the need for a two-parter here). In this article, we’ll skip over the “basics” of SBA’s MPP (which you can read all about here) and instead, jump right into the first few common misconceptions surrounding the program (with the rest to follow in Part II).
Continue readingVOSB Program Possibly Expanding? Congress Takes Next Step Towards VOSB Expansion
The Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Program has long held a sort of unheralded position in SBA and federal contracting. Unlike its much more expansive counterpart, the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Program, the VOSB Program only allows for set asides for VOSBs for VA procurements (and even within VA SDVOSB companies are in a higher tier than VOSBs). In contrast, all agencies can set aside contracts for SDVOSBs. This has limited the desirability of admission to the program for many veteran owners, many of whom do not do work, that the VA needs. But things might be changing, as Congress has proposed a big step towards expanding what agencies can set-aside contracts for VOSBs.
Continue readingBack to Basics: The Buy American Act
We get a lot of questions about federal government contracting as federal government contracting attorneys, which makes sense. One thing we get asked about a lot is the Buy American Act. This is also unsurprising, as the government really did not do the best job in making it clear what this act does. We have talked about the Act before, but now, let’s take a deeper dive into it.
Continue readingSBA Proposed Rule: Make WOSB, SDVOSB, and 8(a) Regulations More Consistent
If you ask any small business federal government contractor or their attorney for the top complaints about the regulations that apply to the Small Business Administration, inconsistency between the various programs is likely to show up on that list. At first glance, it seems the requirements are pretty standard across the board. However, when you dive deeper, you’ll likely notice that even though the requirements are similar, there are enough small differences in the language you can’t just assume that, say, a requirement for service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) is going to be the same for a woman-owned small business (WOSB) or an 8(a) Program participant.
The differences make it crucial to look at the specific regulations for the specific SBA program to ensure compliance. You can’t just assume that they are the same. Thankfully, it looks like the SBA has finally heard our cries for consistency with a recent Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, in which it attempts to align the WOSB Program with the new SDVOSB/VetCert Program and the 8(a) Program. And, as an added bonus, the beginnings of what appears to be a plan to make the WOSB certification process a bit easier if your business is already certified under either the 8(a) program or the SDVOSB program.
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