SmallGovCon Week In Review: February 15-19, 2016

Posted on February 19, 2016 by Steven Koprince

Next week I will be in Washington, DC to sit in on the K ingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States oral arguments. I will be following that up with a blog post on Monday afternoon, a live Twitter Q&A session at 10am EST on Tuesday, February 23 and a free webinar at noon EST (also on Tuesday) detailing what I heard at the hearing.

If you are interested in joining the webinar you can register here and if you want to partake in the Twitter Q&A you can tweet your questions to me @StevenKoprince. On Monday and Tuesday, it’s all about Kingdomware. In the mean time we bring you our weekly dose of news from around the nation. In this week’s SmallGovCon Week in Review, we take a look at how humans in lieu of technology are leading the charge against procurement fraud, Federal News Radio shines light on the frustrations with GSA, a four-year jail sentence in a kickback scheme, and more.

GAO: Rule of Two Not Satisfied Where Businesses Do Not Manufacture Products

Posted on February 16, 2016 by SmallGovCon Contributor

Where an agency buys manufactured goods, the FAR’s Rule of Two is satisfied when two or small business manufacturers of the end products exist. It is not enough, as GAO recently held, for two or more small business distributors of manufactured products to exist.

Justice Scalia’s Passing & The Kingdomware Case

Posted on February 15, 2016 by Steven Koprince

As the nation pauses to remember Justice Antonin Scalia, SDVOSBs and VOSBs are already asking: what does Justice Scalia’s passing mean for Kingdomware v. United States, which is currently scheduled for oral argument on February 22?

Good question. Here’s what I know now, plus a little speculation to boot.

SmallGovCon Week In Review: February 8-12, 2016

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Steven Koprince

Love is in the air this weekend as Valentine’s Day approaches. And even if that special someone isn’t the chocolate-and-flowers type, nothing says true love like giving the gift of the latest government contracting news and notes. And best of all, it’s free!

In this week’s edition of SmallGovCon Week In Review, the government appears to have hit its 23% small business goal for the third year running, a contractor will fork over $1 million to settle DOT DBE fraud claims, new data suggests that agencies are cutting back on lowest-price, technically acceptable contracts, and much more.

SBA Affiliation Rules: 4.16% Minority Owner “Controlled” Company

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Steven Koprince

An owner of a mere 4.16% minority interest nonetheless “controlled” a company within the meaning of the SBA’s affiliation rules because the company’s ownership was split among approximately 20 companies, each with an equal ownership interest.

In a recent size appeal decision, the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals confirmed that, where a company has no 50% or greater owner, a minority owner may be presumed to control the company–even where that ownership is as little as 4.16%.

GAO: No Protest Under Omitted FAR Clause

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Steven Koprince

A would-be protester had no valid basis to allege agency wrongdoing when the protester’s allegation was that the awardee would violate a FAR performance of work clause–but the clause was not included in the solicitation.

In a recent decision, the GAO held (unsurprisingly), that a protester could not challenge the awardee’s supposed failure to comply with FAR 52.236-1 because the clause was omitted from the solicitation.

No “Sum Certain” Means No Valid Claim, Board Holds

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Steven Koprince

A contractor’s claim against the Government was invalid because the contractor did not demand a “sum certain” in clear and unequivocal terms.

In a recent decision, the Postal Service Board of Contract Appeals held that a contractor’s claim was deficient where the contractor argued that it was up to the government to figure out the amount of the claim using “simple mathematics.”