SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 8-12, 2021

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday! We hope you had a wonderful and reflective Veteran’s day. I just got back from speaking at the APTAC Fall Conference on the big changes that will be taking place in the SDVOSB certification program, along with other legal updates. Thanks to the many wonderful people at APTAC, including Allen Waldo, who helped make that conference a success. It was a great event.

This week in federal government contracting saw important stories about CMMC 2.0 and other cyber initiatives, as well as the possibility of a year-long continuing resolution.

SBA Updates Veteran Surviving Spouse Rule

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Shane McCall

A proposed rule from SBA will make changes to the SDVOSB rules. SBA has modified its rules allowing surviving spouses to continue owning Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses after the veteran owner has passed away. This should provide some help to spouses of disabled veterans. SBA has updated a few dollar thresholds as well.

SmallGovCon Salutes Veterans

Posted on November 11, 2021 by Shane McCall

Today, SmallGovCon salutes veterans and the families of veterans who have served our country. Veterans have given their time, resources, and lives for the protection of our country. We especially honor those sacrifices today, and the sacrifices of their families.

On this Veterans Day, let us remember what the members of the armed services have done for our country.

SBA Proposes Rule to Use 24-Month Period to Calculate Number of Employees

Posted on November 10, 2021 by Steven Koprince

The SBA has released a proposed rule to use a 24-month period to calculate a company’s number of employees for eligibility purposes in all of SBA’s programs. This change will affect any business seeking to qualify as small under an employee-based NAICS code, such as those applicable to manufactured products.

Department of the Interior Proposes Rules to Remove Barriers in Buy Indian Act Contracting Opportunities

Posted on November 9, 2021 by SmallGovCon Contributor

The Department of the Interior (DOI) proposes to revise regulations implementing the Buy Indian Act, which provides the Department with authority to set aside procurement contracts for Indian-owned and controlled businesses. The proposed rule is to revise current procurement regulations that have created barriers to Indian Economic Enterprises (IEEs) from full participation in the DOI’s procurement process. The proposed rule is here.

GAO Affirms any Discussions During Evaluations Must be Meaningful

Posted on November 8, 2021 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Evaluation of offers is a crucial point in the procurement process. During this time period, an agency may, in certain procurements, reach out with discussion questions meant to bring clarity to the decision-making process. However, any such discussions must be meaningful.

As one offeror recently found out, meaningful discussions even apply in so-called simplified acquisitions.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 1-5, 2021

Posted on November 5, 2021 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday, Readers. We hope you had a productive week. November 11 is Veteran’s Day. This holiday started as a day to honor the heroism of those who died in our country’s service and was originally called Armistice Day. It fell on Nov. 11 because that is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. However, in 1954, the holiday was changed to “Veterans Day” in order to recognize and honor all veterans of war. Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC would like to thank all veterans for your service.

As usual, there was a lot happening in federal government contracting this week. Here are a few articles that may be of interest. Have a great weekend.