Evaluation and selection of an offeror for award of an “Other Transactional Agreement,” or “OTA,” are significantly more flexible than a traditional procurement under the FAR. This was at issue recently in GAO case MD Helicopters Inc., B-417379 (Comp. Gen. Apr. 4, 2019), where GAO clarified that it does not have jurisdiction to hear protests regarding OTA award decisions.
Continue reading…SmallGovCon Week In Review April 8 – April 12, 2019
Happy Friday, everyone! It’s a beautiful day in Lawrence, as we seemed to have dodged the bullet with the massive mid-April winter storm that’s affected our friends up north. No matter where you’re located, we hope you’ve had a great week, too.
Before we head out for the weekend, it’s time for the Week In Review. In this week’s edition, we’ll take a look at the nominee to head the SBA, VA contracting goals, a new DoD rule to implement the nonmanufacturer rule to 8(a) contracts, and more.
Have a great weekend!
Continue reading…CBCA Rules that Claims Discovered During Appeal Were Not Time-Barred
The Contract Disputes Act requires a contractor to present a claim to the contracting officer “within 6 years after the accrual of the claim.” 41 U.S.C. 7103(a)(4)(A). But a claim doesn’t typically accrue until the contractor should have known that it was damaged by the Government.
As discussed below, some legal claims might not arise until a contractor takes discovery in an appeal already before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals.
Continue reading…Runway Extension Act Update: SBA Says Three-Year Reporting Period Still Applies
In late 2018, Congress passed the Small Business Runway Extension Act, which had a single purpose: change the three-year average annual receipts calculation period (for determining small business eligibility) to a five-year calculation period.
Small businesses, for the most part, have been watching with bated breath for the SBA to comply with the Runway Extension Act. But as we’ve previously written, the SBA has thus far refused to do so (albeit under shifting rationale).
Now, the SBA has cemented its position against applying the Runway Extension Act—according to the SBA, “[b]usinesses must continue to report their annual receipts based on a 3-year average until the SBA amends its regulations.”
I’m not convinced the SBA has it right.
Continue reading…GAO: Agencies Must Consider Information Gathered by Reverse Auction Providers
What are federal contractors supposed to do when FedBid (now Unison) requests additional information related to a proposal and the awarding agency ignores that information in its awarding decision?
GAO recently held that the agency must consider all information gathered by reverse auction providers.
Continue reading…GAO: Past Performance Should Relate to Solicited Services
Past performance is an important evaluation factor in many solicitations. Essentially, it allows an agency to guess as to the likelihood of an offeror’s successful performance under a solicitation by looking to its history of performance on similar projects in the past.
GAO recently confirmed it is “axiomatic” that past performance examples should align with the solicitation’s requirements. If an offeror submits unrelated examples, it risks a downgraded past performance score.
Continue reading…SmallGovCon Week In Review April 1, 2019 – April 5, 2019
Happy Friday, everyone! With what seemed like the longest winter ever now officially behind us, it’s getting to be the time of year stuffed with weekend activities. At least that’s the case in my house: this weekend, my son has his first soccer game (and his dad has his first game coaching).
We hope that you’re gearing up for a weekend, too. Before we punch out, though, let’s review the news of the week. In this edition of the Week In Review, we’ll look at proposed improvements to DoD’s procurement process, additional cybersecurity considerations, improvements being made for the DoD procurement process, more cyber security suggestions, efforts to improve the supply chain, and more.
Have a great weekend!
Continue reading…