SmallGovCon Week in Review: Sept. 21-25, 2020

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Shane McCall

Next week, I’ll be speaking on small business federal contracting issues at for the AFCEA South Florida chapter. But if you can’t catch that talk, there’s a lot of federal contracting news to catch up on this week. Read on below.

Stories from the past week include the White House release of an executive order that may have some effect on federal contractors. The executive order requires a clause in federal contracts prohibiting federal contractors from using “workplace training that inculcates in its employees any form of race or sex stereotyping or any form of race or sex scapegoating.”

‘[R]ace or sex stereotyping’ means ascribing character traits, values, moral and ethical codes, privileges, status, or beliefs to a race or sex, or to an individual because of his or her race or sex, and the term ‘race or sex scapegoating’ means assigning fault, blame, or bias to a race or sex, or to members of a race or sex because of their race or sex.” Contractors should be aware of this new requirement, but we’ll have to see how it plays out in practice.

Read on for other interesting stories.

AFCEA Small Business Talk September 29

Posted on September 25, 2020 by Shane McCall

Mark your calendars for next week. I’ll be speaking at the AFCEA South Florida’s SB Lunch and Learn on September 29 from 11:30am – 12:30pm eastern time. The topic is “10 things every Small Business should know about Federal Contracting Law.”

AFCEA is an organization dedicated to “exploration of issues relevant to its members in information technology, communications, and electronics for the defense, homeland security and intelligence communities.” The event is open to all and registration information can be found here.

VA CVE Verification Appeals Must be Filed at SBA, Not VA

Posted on September 24, 2020 by Nicole Pottroff

If the VA Center for Verification and Evaluation denies a company’s application for verification as a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, the applicant has the right to appeal–but the appeal must be filed with the SBA, not the VA.

In a recent case, an applicant tried to appeal its denial to the VA, apparently based on the erroneous advice of a VA employee. By the time the applicant realized that it had appealed to the wrong agency, it was too late.

GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service Over-Reported Small Business Contracts by $89 Million

Posted on September 21, 2020 by Shane McCall

Every year, when the SBA releases its annual Small Business Procurement Scorecard, I hear from a few folks who mistrust the data. “I think small business awards are being over-reported,” is a pretty common theme for Scorecard skeptics.

A new GSA Office of Inspector General report is a reminder that it’s not paranoia if people are really out to get you. According to the GSA OIG, the GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service over-reported small business contracts by a whopping $89 million in just two fiscal years.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: Sept. 14-18, 2020

Posted on September 18, 2020 by Shane McCall

On Monday, the calendar officially moves to fall. Hopefully you have plans to enjoy the last weekend of Summer 2020, whether it’s at the beach, the lake, or just firing up the backyard grill.

Before the weekend begins, it’s time as always for our Friday rundown of the latest and greatest (or not-so-greatest) in federal government contracting. In this week’s edition, an Oregon man gets jail time for his role in a DoD fraud scheme, two members of the CMMC Advisory Board are unexpectedly out, the Air Force makes a long-term commitment to telework, and much more.

Happy National PTAC Day!

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Shane McCall

I wanted to wish our readers a fine National PTAC Day! The local PTACs are an invaluable resource for many federal contractors, especially those just starting out in the federal contracting space.

There are PTACs in all 50 states. And those local branches serve over 48,000 clients. Be sure to give your local PTAC some love this week!

Inspector General: SBA’s Certify.SBA.gov Platform “Has Not Accomplished Its Objectives”

Posted on September 16, 2020 by Nicole Pottroff

The SBA’s “Certify” website, certify.SBA.gov, has fallen far short of meeting its objectives, according to an eye-opening report from the SBA’s Office of Inspector General.

The OIG concludes that, despite an investment of $30 million, Certify “does not have many of the essential search, analytical, and reporting tools it was supposed to have.” Additionally, Certify’s lack of functionality has forced SBA employees to use time-consuming workarounds, causing delays in screening and approving applications, among other things.