The Small Business Administration (SBA) has proposed to amend the rules of practice for its Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) and the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program to “implement procedures authorizing appeals to OHA” from adverse status determination protests for certified HUBZone small business concerns. Currently, HUBZone status protest determinations are decided by the Associate Administrator of Government Contracting and Business Development per 13 C.F.R. § 126.805. But those appeals, in our experience, are fairly limited and SBA does not publish the appeal decisions, meaning they provide little help for companies and attorneys wishing to understand how SBA interprets its HUBZone This is a big step for SBA and will certainly bring consistency and insights to the protest process and regulatory interpretation for HUBZone participants, bringing that program more in line with other SBA programs.
Goodbye PTAC, Hello APEX Accelerators
The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday, December 2, 2022, in a bid to strengthen and expand small business development nationally. The most obvious immediate change is that the more than 90 Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTAC) will be renamed APEX Accelerators, and the DOD and SBA are hopeful that this rebranding will bring new life to the program, which provides free procurement assistance to small businesses that work with all levels of the government, whether federal, state, or local.
Continue reading…Webinar Event: December 15, 2022 at 2:00pm MST: The Do’s & Don’ts of Federal Contracting
Federal contracting rules and laws are complicated, and the rules aren’t always intuitive. Many contractors make legal mistakes routinely, involving everything from completing SAM profiles to calculating small business size to communicating with government contracting officers.
I invite you to join Greg Weber and myself as we discuss the Top 21 Most Common Legal Mistakes that contractors make time and time again hosted by the El Paso Chamber of Commerce. You will learn what these common mistakes are and how to avoid them. Hope to see you there! Click here to register.
SmallGovCon Week in Review: December 5-9, 2022
Happy Friday, Readers. We hope you have a great week and are finishing the year strong. There were several announcements in federal government contracting this week. The SBA issued a statement regarding the recent announcement by the Department of Defense (DoD) on the creation of the Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) as well as releasing a statement on the Coronavirus Crisis Report Concerning Fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program. Please read more on those announcements below and other federal government happenings. Have a great weekend!
Continue reading…Agencies Do Not Have Unlimited Discretion to Cancel Solicitations, Says the COFC
In its recent decision, the Court of Federal Claims decided whether and when an agency can cancel a FAR part 15 procurement and start from scratch. Agencies have historically been afforded extremely broad discretion in cancelling solicitations. But in this case, the court agreed with the protester that cancellation was wrongful. It also laid out the details of a proper versus improper solicitation cancellation quite nicely. Thus, this landmark decision provides crucial guidance on the subject for agencies and federal contractors alike.
Continue reading…SBA Provides Answers on Vets Certification Program Roll-Out in Q&A Session
On December 6, 2022, the SBA held a virtual Q&A session to discuss the roll-out of the Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) and Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) certification program. They will be assuming responsibility as of January 2023 and the SBA will begin accepting applications for certification on January 9, 2023. Through the Q&A session, the SBA provided some tips for contractors, an explanation of the processes that are controlling the SBA’s SDVOSB and VOSB certification program, and even gave attendees a preview of the software that will be used. Of course, SmallGovCon was there to get all the details so that we can break them down for you.
Continue reading…SmallGovCon Week in Review: November 28-December 2, 2022
Happy Friday, Readers! December is already here and as we kick off the holiday season, it’s hard to believe that the year is wrapping up already. And speaking of “wrapping” there’s sure to be some of that in the next few weeks. My advice is to pace yourself. The holiday season often feels like we are sprinting, as we try to get it all done and to attend all the holiday festivities. Make sure you slow down enough to really enjoy friends and family. I’ve been enjoying our downtown holiday lights which get better every year, it seems.
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