ASBCA Orders Agency To Speed Up Claim Decisions

Posted on December 12, 2016 by SmallGovCon Contributor

The Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals can order an agency to “speed up” its decision on a certified claim if the contracting officer’s anticipated time frame is unreasonably slow.

In a recent case, the ASBCA ordered a contracting officer to issue a decision approximately eight weeks earlier than the contracting officer planned to do so. The ASBCA’s decision highlights a little-known provision of the Contract Disputes Act, which entitles a contractor to request that an appropriate tribunal order an agency to hasten its decision on a claim.

SDVOSB Programs: 2017 NDAA Modifies Ownership & Control Criteria

Posted on December 12, 2016 by Steven Koprince

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act makes some important adjustments to the criteria for ownership and control of a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.

The 2017 NDAA modifies how the ownership criteria are applied in the case of an ESOP, specifies that a veteran with a permanent and severe disability need not personally manage the company on a day-to-day basis, and, under limited circumstances, permits a surviving spouse to continue to operate the company as an SDVOSB.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: December 5-9, 2016

Posted on December 9, 2016 by Steven Koprince

I don’t know about your part of the country, but here in Lawrence, the temperatures have plunged and it has finally felt like winter for the first time. When temps get cold, I prefer to stay inside with a hot beverage, but I have to hand it to all of the die hard Chiefs fans who scoffed at the single-digit temperatures and spent the evening watching their team defeat the Raiders at Arrowhead Stadium last night.

As we continue our wintry approach to the holidays, it’s been a big week in government contracting. Here on SmallGovCon, we’ve been focusing on the government contracting provisions of the 2017 NDAA, and this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review has an additional update on the bill’s progress. But that’s not all: our weekly roundup of government contracting news also includes a change to the FAR to reflect SBA regulations regarding multiple-award contracts, previews of contracting under President-elect Trump, and much more.

2017 NDAA Increases DoD’s Micro-Purchase Threshold To $5,000

Posted on December 9, 2016 by SmallGovCon Contributor

The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act will increase the DoD’s micro-purchase threshold to $5,000.

Under the conference bill recently approved by both House and Senate, the DoD’s micro-purchase threshold will be $1,500 greater than the standard micro-purchase threshold applicable to civilian agencies.

2017 NDAA Authorizes $250 Million For New Small Business Prototyping Program

Posted on December 8, 2016 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Good news for small business looking to break into Department of Defense contracting: the 2017 NDAA establishes a new prototyping pilot program for small businesses and nontraditional defense contractors to develop new and innovative technologies.

The DoD is putting its money where its mouth is: the new pilot program is funded with $250 million from the rapid prototyping fund established by last year’s NDAA.

2017 NDAA Extends SBIR & STTR Programs For Five Years

Posted on December 8, 2016 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Coming as welcome news for collaborative R&D, the 2017 NDAA will extend the life of the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

The conference version of the bill, which seems likely to be on the President’s desk in short order, contains provisions extending both programs for five years.

2017 NDAA Restricts DoD’s Use of LPTA Procedures

Posted on December 7, 2016 by SmallGovCon Contributor

The 2017 NDAA is full of important changes that will affect federal contracting going forward. As Steve wrote about earlier this week, some of these changes relate to government contracting programs (like the SDVOSB program). Still others relate to how the government actually procures goods and services.

One of these important changes severely limits the use of lowest-price technically-acceptable (“LPTA”) evaluations in Department of Defense procurements. Following the change, “best value” tradeoffs will be prioritized for DoD acquisitions. This post will briefly examine when LPTA procurements will and won’t be allowed under the 2017 NDAA.