It should go without saying that making cash payments to a federal contracting official can bring stiff penalties. Yet every now and then we hear about criminal convictions of government contractors who can’t seem to resist the lure of gifts, gratuities, and other illicit payments to government officials.
Speaking of which, here’s one right now…
Is a small business affiliated with its joint venture partner? Forgive the stereotypical lawyerly response, but the answer is “yes and no.” A small business is affiliated with its joint venture partner on a procurement-specific basis, but typically is not affiliated with its joint venture partner on an ongoing basis. The SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals succinctly explained the basic rules relating to joint ventures and affiliation in Size Appeal of Innovative Resources, SBA No. SIZ-5238 (2011).
I hate waiting until the last minute to do things. My wife knows that we need to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare before our flight takes off, or I start getting stressed. When I have a filing deadline, I tend to submit my documents well in advance. Sometimes, I have to wait for a client’s sign-off on a final draft, or a last tweak to an exhibit, as the minutes to the deadline tick away. When that happens, people who know me well can see my blood pressure begin to slowly rise.
My way of doing things isn’t everyone’s. For folks who “work best under pressure,” as they say, working right up until a deadline is par for the course. But as one recent GAO bid protest decision highlights, emailing a proposal to a procuring agency at the last minute can be dicey because electronic deliveries are not necessarily instantaneous. Filing shortly before the deadline closes, even by email, may result in a late proposal.
In this era of enforcement, lost contracts are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to false certifications of eligibility for the SBA’s and VA’s small business programs. The story of John White and Mitsubishi Construction Corp. should serve as a dire warning about just how serious the consequences of false certifications can be.
After a participant in the SBA’s 8(a) Program graduates, can its mentor-protégé agreement be reapproved for another full year? Surprisingly, the answer may be “yes.” At least, this is what happened in the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals’ decision in HMRTECH2 LLC, ASBCA No. 56829 (2009). However, subsequent rule changes indicate that the benefits of any such post-graduation re-approval will be limited to contracts obtained prior to graduation.
During my first summer in Washington, D.C. many years ago, I spent a hot, sticky Fourth of July on the National Mall, eating picnic food and watching the fireworks. I’m sure a few security personnel were around, but I took no notice of them. Flash forward to another Fourth on the Mall—this one post-9/11. On that Fourth, everyone entering the Mall had to pass through security before celebrating America’s birth. I remember mixed emotions—I was glad that the government was focusing on public safety, but frustrated about standing in a long security line just to reach the Mall.
Security is a reality of life these days, especially when dealing with the government. That’s why if you plan to hand-deliver a proposal to a procuring agency, be sure to check the agency’s security requirements well in advance of your planned delivery time, or the proposal could be rejected as late. One contractor learned this lesson the hard way, as described in the GAO’s bid protest decision in B&S Transport, Inc., B-404648.3 (Apr. 8, 2011).
If someone asked me to play a word association game with the phrase “quorum provision,” one of my first responses might be “boring.” After all, who really cares about some arcane paragraph tucked away in a company’s governing documents, describing how many people must attend company meetings?
Well, SDVOSBs should care. If your small business is pursuing service-disabled veteran-owned small business set-aside opportunities, you better make sure your governing documents are airtight. As demonstrated in one recent SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals decision, even something as mundane and boring as a quorum provision can defeat SDVOSB status, if the provision does not allow service-disabled veterans to unconditionally control the company.