GAO Bid Protests: A Wrinkle In Time(liness)

Posted on May 27, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

As our regular readers know, a GAO protest challenging an agency’s evaluation decision must be filed within 10 days from the date the protester knew (or should have known) of the protest grounds, or within 10 days from the date the protester receives its debriefing (but only if the debriefing was required and timely requested). 4 C.F.R. § 21.2(a)(2).

But sometimes, an agency might give an offeror a reason to protest before it makes its official award determination. In that case, should the offeror wait to file its protest until the agency completes its evaluation?

In some cases, no—the protest should be filed within 10 days from the date the agency makes its determination known.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: May 18 – May 22, 2020

Posted on May 22, 2020 by Shane McCall

Happy Memorial Day! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend as we remember those who have sacrificed for our country. Memorial Day was first observed in 1868. At that time then Congressman and former general James Garfield remarked of those that had died for our country: “For love of country they accepted death, and thus resolved all doubts, and made immortal their patriotism and their virtue.”

While we remember their sacrifice, there was also much news in the world of federal contracting. This week saw stories, among others, of the ramifications of the STARS II contract hitting its ceiling, a new approach for multiple award contracts, and the Air Force’s plan to roll out “Skyborg” drones.

SBA: It’s (Maybe) Fine if You Didn’t Count the Employees of Your Foreign Affiliates for PPP Purposes

Posted on May 22, 2020 by SmallGovConContributor

In what might be a classic “now you tell me” scenario, the SBA issued a new rule May 21 saying that if an applicant failed to count the employees of its foreign affiliates when it was determining its eligibility, the SBA will not hold that against the applicant so long as the application was submitted before the SBA clarified that requirement.

The problem with that, however, is that because the safe harbor ended May 18, it’s highly likely that a lot of those businesses already gave their PPP loan back. They’d be forgiven for thinking they had to, as earlier this month Sen. Marco Rubio was indicating that Congress would investigate companies who took PPP funds for which they weren’t eligible.

SBA Releases PPP Loan Forgiveness Application

Posted on May 21, 2020 by Shane McCall

On May 15, SBA released the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application. Because loan forgiveness was a huge component of Paycheck Protection Program, the application is hugely important. While this post won’t do a deep dive into the loan forgiveness rules, we wanted to bring this to the attention of our blog readers.

GAO Catch-22: A Protest is Both Too Late and Too Early

Posted on May 20, 2020 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Over the years, we’ve written a fair number of blogs about how contractors have been either too early or too late to protest. What we haven’t blogged about is a situation where a contractor is premature and late. Unfortunately for one protester, GAO has recently confirmed that you can, indeed, be both too early and too late to protest.

Running the Numbers: SBA OIG Tallies Up Handling of PPP Loans

Posted on May 18, 2020 by Shane McCall

The SBA’s Office of Inspector General released an early report on SBA’s handling of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The report identified some important areas where SBA has not quite hit the mark in matching the priorities of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act with SBA’s implementation and guidance for PPP loans.

PPP Loans: To Take or Not To Take?

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Nicole Pottroff

Many small businesses are struggling right now. And PPP loans may offer some much-needed relief under the circumstances. But how do you know if it is a good idea to accept the loan for your company?

Unfortunately, the only answer is “it depends.” There is no one-size-fits-all response because each company—and the effect of COVID-19 on each company’s business—is different. However, SBA’s recent guidance has provided a few crucial considerations for making this decision.