Coming Next Week: Koprince Law LLC’s New 8(a) Program GovCon Handbook!

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Steven Koprince

The 8(a) Program is tremendously powerful and can be a springboard to massive success in the government contracts marketplace. But the many (many!) rules surrounding the 8(a) Program are complex, and even savvy 8(a) contractors–not to mention first-time applicants–easily can become confused.

I am pleased to announce that next week, Koprince Law LLC will publish a Second Edition of our popular GovCon Handbook on the 8(a) Program. In this revised, updated and expanded Handbook, my colleague Nicole Pottroff and I will cover the 8(a) Program’s rules in detail, including:

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Feb. 15 – Feb. 19, 2021

Posted on February 19, 2021 by Shane McCall

It looks like the cold snap over most of the country has finally thawed and spring is right around the corner. Hope everyone is recovering from the effects of the cold. The recent Mars rover landing reminded me of the important and exciting work that the government and contractors are doing for the country.

This week saw important updates about CMMC integration by GSA, a reminder that the feds are still looking into procurement fraud, and threats to GSA cyber security.

Reminder: If Pricing is Too High, VA Rule of Two Might Not Apply

Posted on February 18, 2021 by SmallGovConContributor

The VA Rule of Two, while a powerful motivator for setting procurements aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, does have its limits.

One of those exceptions was discussed in a recent ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The court confirmed that the VA may convert a service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside solicitation to a small business set-aside if the SDVOSB bids it receives are too high in price.

No Protests of SBA Mentor-Protégé Agreements, Says OHA

Posted on February 16, 2021 by Steven Koprince

The SBA’s mentor-protégé program offers powerful benefits. To help ensure that only legitimate small businesses take advantage of the program, the SBA asks applicants a series of questions about potential affiliation between the prospective mentor and protégé.

But once the SBA signs off on a mentor-protégé agreement, that’s that. As the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals recently confirmed, competitors cannot use the size protest process to challenge whether an SBA mentor-protégé agreement should have been approved in the first place.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Feb. 8 – Feb. 12, 2021

Posted on February 12, 2021 by Shane McCall

Hello SmallGovCon readers. Here at HQ, we’ve been hit with both a Super Bowl loss from the Chiefs, as well as temperatures topping out in the single digits this week. We’re really looking forward to spring! But in the meantime, enjoy some of these hot federal contracting updates to warm you up.

This week saw stories including myths about CMMC, increase in federal AI spending, and bias affecting growth in the 8(a) program.

Buy American Act Domestic Component Threshold Gets A Raise

Posted on February 11, 2021 by SmallGovConContributor

A new FAR final rule recently went into effect that has increased the percentage for the domestic component requirement under the Buy American Act, a percentage that had been in place for nearly 70 years before this recent change.

CPARS Challenges: No Appeals Without Contracting Officer Claim

Posted on February 10, 2021 by Steven Koprince

Ask many government contractors, and they’ll tell you that even a single negative report in the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System can have a powerful adverse impact on winning future prime contracts.

Given the importance of these performance reports, it’s little wonder that a contractor on the receiving end of a negative CPAR may want to ask a judge to review the matter. But as one recent case demonstrates, a contractor cannot challenge a CPAR with a judge until the contractor has followed the FAR’s claims process.