Federal Judge Suggests Congressional “Kill Switch” For Kingdomware SDVOSB Preferences

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Steven Koprince

In a strongly-worded opinion, a federal judge decried a “labyrinth of legal and regulatory hoops and hurdles” imposed on the VA as a result of the famous Kingdomware Supreme Court decision–and suggested that Congress could exercise a “kill switch” to curtail or even eliminate the SDVOSB and VOSB contracting preferences the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed.

While I have no reason to suspect that Kingdomware is in any danger of being overturned or curtailed by Congress, its certainly not great news for SDVOSBs and VOSBs that a federal judge seems to be pushing for that very thing.

GAO Reviews Agency Actions in the Wake of Equifax Data Breach

Posted on October 3, 2018 by SmallGovConContributor

It’s easy to forget that roughly a year ago, Equifax was hacked, which compromised the personal information of roughly 145.5 million individuals. The scope of the breach was concerning for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that Equifax was providing identity verification services for three federal agencies at the time it was attacked.

In a recent report, GAO reviewed how these agencies responded to the attack. While not making any specific recommendations at this time, GAO’s report does highlight the extent to which federal agencies were not fully prepared for cyberattacks on private contractors.

New Consolidated SDVOSB Eligibility Requirements: the Good, the Bad, and the Downright Ugly

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Steven Koprince

New, consolidated SDVOSB eligibility regulations kicked in on October 1. The new regulations replace the old VA and SBA rules, which provided separate eligibility standards for SDVOSBs.

Veterans have long been confused by the fact that the Government operated two separate SDVOSB programs, each with its own standards. The consolidated rule will eliminate that confusion, and that’s a very good thing. There are also several other pieces of the new SDVOSB eligibility rule that veterans should like–but also some that aren’t so great, or that require further clarification as to how they’ll be applied.

We provided a broader overview of the new regulations earlier last week. Now it’s time for me to get on my soapbox. Without further ado, here’s my list of the good, bad, and the downright ugly from the new SDVOSB regulations.

FAR Update Clarifies SAM Registration Deadline

Posted on October 2, 2018 by SmallGovConContributor

In last week’s edition of the SmallGovCon Week In Review, we referenced a FAR update that has important ramifications for prospective small business government contractors. This rule is potentially important enough that we figured it deserved its own stand-alone SmallGovCon post.

So what’s so important about this new rule? In a nutshell, it clarifies that offerors must be registered in SAM at the time of bid submission to be considered for an award.

GAO Puts Substance Over Form in Past Performance Protest

Posted on October 1, 2018 by SmallGovConContributor

Recently, GAO sustained a bid protest where an agency “unreasonably excluded” a joint venture’s proposal, which included all necessary information listed in the solicitation, from competition.

GAO held that it was unreasonable for the agency to exclude the joint venture merely because the joint venture’s proposal didn’t include a subcontract number for one of its past performance references. GAO held, in essence, that the missing information was irrelevant because it had no bearing on the type of work completed.

5 Things You Should Know: Adding Wage Rates to Davis-Bacon Act Wage Determinations

Posted on October 1, 2018 by SmallGovConContributor

For federal construction projects in the United States exceeding $2,000, the Davis-Bacon Act requires contractors to pay their “laborers and mechanics” the “prevailing wage.” Typically, a federal construction contract will incorporate a wage determination which outlines the prevailing wages for the workers expected for the project. But what if you discover that you need another type of worker not listed on the wage determination?

Here are five things you should know about adding wage rates to an existing DBA wage determination.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: September 24-28, 2018

Posted on September 28, 2018 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Happy end of FY 2018, everybody! Let’s celebrate properly, with the SmallGovCon Week In Review.

In this week’s edition, we’ll discuss end-of-fiscal-year spending (appropriately enough), new FAR regulations, and government contracting officials behaving badly.

Have a great weekend!