Category Archives: Uncategorized

SmallGovCon Week In Review: Sept. 2-6, 2013

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SmallGovCon is now more than a year old (time flies!) and it’s time to make a few changes to enhance the site for our regular readers (and those who have yet to become regular readers).

As part of that effort, I am pleased to announce the debut of SmallGovCon Week In Review.  Every Friday, SmallGovCon Week In Review will spotlight a number of current news articles, editorials, and other writings.

In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, the Washington Post focuses on the VA’s SDVOSB program, Federal News Radio spotlights new Department of Labor hiring benchmarks for federal contractors, Washington Technology offers advice from three of the country’s fastest-growing government contractors, and much more.

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Contractor Misses Solicitation’s Past Performance Requirement; Gets High Score Anyway

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A contractor was awarded an “Excellent” past performance score despite submitting only three past performance references, not the five past performance references required by the solicitation.

Although one might think that a contractor would be penalized for failing to satisfy such a requirement, the GAO held that the procuring agency properly gave the contractor in question a high past performance score, based on the three submitted references and past performance information obtained from other sources.

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HUBZone Fraud: Contractors Agree To $6.25 Million Settlement

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Two Kentucky-based government contractors and their owners have agreed to pay $6.25 million to settle HUBZone fraud claims, according to a U.S. Department of Justice press release.

The costly settlement puts an end to a saga involving DOJ claims of a vacant “principal” office, undisclosed affiliation, and fraudulent statements made to the SBA and and the U.S. Army.

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DOD, VA, DHS Moving In The Wrong Direction: A Closer Look At The 2011 SBA Small Business Scorecard

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The Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, and Department of Homeland Security, among other federal procuring agencies, awarded smaller percentages of contracts to small businesses in 2011 than in the previous year, according to the 2011 SBA Small Business Procurement Scorecard.

Fewer small business awards by major procuring agencies was an important contributing factor to the government’s overall drop in small business contracting, off more than $6 billion from last year.  Although most of the news was grim, a handful of agencies continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to small business, while others improved their results from 2010–though still have a ways to go.

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SBA Releases 2011 Small Business Procurement Scorecard–And The News Ain’t Good

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The SBA has released its 2011 Small Business Procurement Scorecard, and the news ain’t good.  The scorecard indicates that government-wide, just 21.65% of prime contract dollars went to small businesses.  The result falls well short of the government-wide 23% goal, and also represents a significant backslide from last year, in which small businesses were awarded 22.66% of contract dollars.

The SBA gives the government a “B” for its overall efforts, but I come from a family of educators, and know that a “B” is not deserved if a student is not making adequate progress.  With government-wide small business prime contract spending dipping by more than a full percentage point in the last year, the government is in for some well-deserved criticism.

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