SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 7-11, 2022

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Shane McCall

On this Veteran’s Day, our firm salutes veterans. Veterans are extraordinarily modest. They don’t ask for, or expect, a “thank you.” But that doesn’t mean they don’t deserve one. If you are a veteran, thank you very much for your service. If you are not a veteran, take a moment today to thank the veterans in your life. We appreciate you and we truly thank you for your service today and every day.

We’ve included some articles on federal government contracting that we found informative, this week. Enjoy the weekend and happy Veteran’s Day!

2022 Bid Protest Report, Success Rate Up, Total Protests Down

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Shane McCall

GAO’s annual bid protest report is a fall tradition for federal contracting attorneys. It’s perhaps not quite as tasty as stuffing in my book, but always interesting. In it, GAO summarizes its slate of bid protests for the previous fiscal year, and we can glean insights from how the protest numbers have changed from prior years.

Here are some key points from this year: (1) the key effectiveness metric, showing numbers of sustains and corrective actions at GAO, was up again to 51% for the 2022 fiscal year and (2) total bid protest numbers are down slightly, continuing a trend from the last few years.

Who You Gonna Call? Your Contracting Officer (Part 3)

Posted on November 7, 2022 by Nicole Pottroff

In our line of work, we regularly litigate protests, claims, appeals, etc., against the Government. But often, procuring and contracting issues can be resolved without the need for litigation–via a little-known method we like to call “talking things out with your CO.” There are also some important things to keep in mind regarding contract performance communications. This article is the last of three articles aimed at providing helpful tips for communicating with your contracting officer. Part 1, which focused on pre-solicitation and solicitation communications, can be found here. And Part 2, which focused on proposal submission communications, can be found here. This article will focus on contract performance communications.

Week in Review: Oct. 31-Nov 4, 2022

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Shane McCall

Happy Friday, Readers and Happy November! I’m excited to be attending the APTAC Conference in Washington DC next week. It should be a great week to chat with PTAC procurement specialists from around the country. If you are attending, please stop by our table and say hello.

We’ve included some articles below on the happenings in federal government contracting, this week, including updates on the GSA UEI delays and the CIO-SP4 procurement. Enjoy your weekend!

Event: APTAC Fall Conference November 6-9

Posted on November 2, 2022 by Shane McCall

I’m excited to be headed to the APTAC Fall Conference from November 6-9 in DC. Hope to see many folks there! This event supports PTAC professionals around the country.

Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) help small businesses succeed in public sector marketplaces by providing no-cost advising on all aspects of selling to the federal, state, and local governments. PTAC Procurement Counselors are dedicated to helping companies advance their business development, and they are great people to reach out to.

A Slight Deviation: DoD Implements Temporary Verification Requirement while SAM Updates

Posted on November 2, 2022 by John Holtz

On a daily basis, the Department of Defense (DoD) issues innumerable memorandums and orders, as one might expect when dealing with one of the largest institutions in human history. Most of these have little to no impact for most government contractors. However, a recent class deviation is an exception, as it should make things easier for the many contractors that use small business joint ventures in contracting with the DoD.

SBA’s 7(a) and 504 Loans Proposed Rule: Affiliation Based on “Control” Soon to be a Thing of the Past

Posted on October 31, 2022 by Gregory Weber

One of the things the Small Business Administration may be best known for is its small business loan programs, such as the section 7(a) and 504 Loan Programs. These programs have been a staple of the small business landscape for quite some time. Unsurprisingly though, there are multiple rules associated with them. Among these myriad rules and requirements, is the determination as to whether a loan applicant is a small business. One of the things that can affect whether a business is small is affiliation with other businesses push that company over the size limit. In a new proposed rule, it appears the SBA plans to dramatically scale back the ways that a business may be seen as affiliated, by practically getting rid of affiliation through “control”–only for for loan purposes, not procurement purposes. As this presents quite a shift in operations, all of us here at SmallGovCon wanted to make sure we have provided you, our readers, a breakdown of these proposed changes to a cornerstone of the SBA.