GAO recently sustained a challenge to an agency’s award decision where the awardee failed to provide a required letter of commitment for an individual proposed for a key personnel position. GAO said that the awardee failed to satisfy a material solicitation requirement, making the agency’s award improper.
Continue reading…OHA: Sold Corporate Division Isn’t a Former Affiliate
Affiliation is a dirty word to small business federal government contractors. For good reason: it can turn a small business into a large one and destroy its eligibility for socioeconomic programs and set-aside contracts. Proactive small business contractors, therefore, routinely audit their affiliation risks and, if necessary, take actions to fracture that affiliation.
One of the ways a company might try to fracture affiliation is to sell a division or business line to a third party. Because this division is sold, the company might be tempted to assume that its corresponding revenues are not considered as part of the affiliation analysis (under the former affiliate rule).
A recent OHA decision, however, instructs that a division or line of business does not qualify under the former affiliate rule.
Continue reading…SmallGovCon Week In Review: January 13 – January 17, 2020
You’ve got to love Kansas weather. Last week it was 65 degrees and sunny, and now we’re due for an ice storm. There’s always something new if you don’t like the current weather.
It’s kind of the same way with government contracting. There’s always something new. This week, there are updates about the government getting over $3 billion from False Claims Act Case, updates about the timing for CMMC cybersecurity certifications, and the goals of the new SBA administrator.
Continue reading…COFC: IndyCar Racing Team Out of Luck, No Implied Contract with the National Guard
It’s never a good idea to perform work without a written contract authorizing the work; handshake agreements between the Government and contractors aren’t reliable. This is particularly true when a dispute arises and the contractor wants compensation. Without a contract, the firm might be out of luck.
Continue reading…Supreme Court Declines to Hear VA Rule of Two Challenge
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a case Monday that could have upended the Rule of Two’s priority over the AbilityOne program for U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ procurements.
Continue reading…Novation Disaster: SBIR Phase III Award Stripped by GAO
Contractors interested in acquiring participants in the SBA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program beware: successfully novating SBIR contracts has been made significantly harder by a recent GAO decision.
Worse still, SBIR novation mistakes can jeopardize future awards under the SBIR contract vehicles. Tread lightly.
Continue reading…SBA Clarifies Subcontracting Plan Rules
The SBA recently issued a final rule concerning numerous aspects of small business contracting. In previous posts, we wrote about a few parts of the rule, including changes to the limitations on subcontracting.
The new rule also clarifies some important facets of the rules governing subcontracting plans.
Continue reading…