SmallGovCon Week in Review: June 27- July 1, 2022

Posted on July 1, 2022 by Shane McCall

Happy Fourth of July, Readers! We hope you have a fun and relaxing holiday weekend planned. Here are 3 fun facts about Independence Day:

The Declaration of Independence Was Written on a Laptop. Not a modern laptop, but still. Thomas Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on a writing desk that could fit over one’s lap. This device was referred to at the time as a “laptop.”
There is Something Written on the Back of the Declaration of Independence. According to the History Channel, a simple message is written upside-down across the bottom of the signed document that reads, “Original Declaration of Independence dated 4th July 1776.”
The Designer of the 50-Star Flag Lived in Lancaster, Ohio. In 1958, a history teacher asked students to redesign the national flag as both Alaska and Hawaii neared statehood. Robert G. Heft, who was 16 at the time, designed a new flag using the old 48-star flag and spent $2.87 on materials. His design earned him a B-minus to which he challenged by sending it to Washington D.C. to be considered by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

While you are enjoying the weekend, we have provided a few noteworthy articles pertaining to federal government contracting for your reading consideration, including Polaris timing update, category management struggles for small businesses, and predictions for the 2023 NDAA. Enjoy your 4th!

Small Business Committee Raises Concerns to SBA About Certification Speed, Category Management

Posted on June 29, 2022 by Gregory Weber

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Committee held a hearing to discuss how the SBA will meet Small Business Contracting goals, and specifically how the SBA can meet its goals related to socioeconomic programs. The committee challenged the Office of Government Contracting & Business Development to show how they will help grow participation in SBA’s small business development programs, and small business participation in federal contracting as a whole. The Small Business Committee raised questions related to inflation, increasing socio-economic program participation, and SBA technology updates.

Back to Basics: Pre-Award Bid Protests

Posted on June 27, 2022 by Stephanie Ellis

Many bid protests we handle at Koprince McCall Pottroff are filed after the contract has been awarded to an offeror. However, sometimes there are issues that are apparent in the solicitation that require clarification or correction prior to the bidding or proposal deadline. In these situations, potential offerors can file a pre-award protest that challenges solicitation terms, but, as with most GAO matters, there are strict deadlines that must be adhered to if the protestor wants to avoid her protest being dismissed. While pre-award protest is the common term, remember that a challenge to a solicitation’s terms is due before the proposal deadline.

SmallGovCon Week in Review: June 20-24, 2022

Posted on June 24, 2022 by Shane McCall

Happy summer, readers! We hope you have some fun plans for the season. Here at SmallGovCon we are gearing up for some nice R & R time with friends and family. But, the first few days of summer have been anything but lazy, with much activity in federal government contracting, including updates on the new OASIS (not the latest summer trend, rather the GSA services IDIQ), rumblings on the new NDAA, and how DoD is making things easier on small businesses.

House Passes HUBZone Price Evaluation Preference Clarification Act of 2021

Posted on June 22, 2022 by Nicole Pottroff

The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed H. R. 5879, clarifying the application of the price evaluation preference for qualified HUBZone small business concerns to certain contracts. If this becomes law, the Act would make sure the HUBZone Price Evaluation Preference applies to certain orders under partially restricted multiple award contracts.

Webinar: June 23, 1:00pm EDT, An Introduction to Government Small Business Certifications, by Steven Koprince, Govology Legal Analyst

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Shane McCall

We are pleased to announce that Steven Koprince, Govology Legal Analyst and retired founder of Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC, will be kicking off his work with one of our favorite federal contracting partners: Govology! Join Steven in his new role as a legal analyst as he discusses various federal small business certification programs, including Small Business Self Certification, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) & 8(a), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB), Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone), Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB), and Economic Disadvantaged Woman-Owned Small Business (EDWOSB).

This one will be provide a great base of knowledge for those looking to know more about the various federal small business certification programs. For more information about this webinar please visit Govology and receive 25% off the registration fee by using discount code: gsc25. Registration link.

SBA Updates Size Standards for Wholesale Trade and Retail Trade

Posted on June 20, 2022 by Shane McCall

SBA has issued new size standards for industries in the Wholesale Trade and Retail Trade sectors. The interesting thing about these size standards is that they don’t apply to federal procurement actions. Instead, there is a different size standard for supply contracts. So, did SBA see fit to increase the supply-contract size standard?