Is the End Near? NITAAC Releases CIO-SP4 Amendments 15 and 16

Additional changes to the submission date and the self-scoring requirements for CIO-SP4 offers make up the latest batch of amendments published by the National Institutes of Health Information Technology Acquisition and Assessment Center, leaving offerors hopeful the latest changes will be the last in a long string of amendments. Amendment 15 pushes back the submission date for CIO-SP4 offers and addresses a change to offer modifications. Amendment 16 includes additional changes to submission requirements and removes the iNsight method of calculating Self Scores.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: January 24-28, 2022

Happy Friday, Readers! We have a fresh batch of federal government contracting articles for you. Yes, we’re all tired of dealing with COVID-19, but it’s important to stay up-to-date, so we have the latest news about the vaccine mandates and how the pandemic has affected contracts for you. In fact, Shane McCall, Equity Partner of Koprince McCall Pottroff LLC, is quoted in the Construction Dive article about force majeure clauses losing their punch. We also have an interesting article about contrasting results from surveys about customer experience with federal agencies. Read about these topics and more below. Also, don’t forget to visit our blog for even more federal government contracting news.

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CIO-SP4 Amendments 12, 13, 14 Update Submission Date and Experience Reporting Method

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) NITAAC has been busy over the past month with three amendments to the CIO-SP4. Amendments 12, 13, and 14 primarily revise submission dates and make changes to the reporting of past experience examples. Below is a summary of the pertinent details from these amendments, as we know this is an important procurement for many contractors.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: January 17-21, 2022

Hello, Readers. We’re feeling the effects of the cold snap here in Lawrence, KS. If you are, too, we hope you’re keeping warm. There’s nothing like a mug of hot chocolate, a soft blanket, indoor heating, and (of course) a roundup of the week’s federal contracting news to fight the chill.

As usual, we’ve got the highlights for you covering what happened this past week in federal government contracting news. Hot topics include: updates on vaccine mandates and pandemic response initiatives, cyber security, and several government fraud, bribe, and theft schemes being brought to light. Read more below and don’t forget to check out our blog for even more federal government contracting news.

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SmallGovCon Week in Review: January 10-14, 2022

Greetings, Readers. We hope your 2022 is off to a great start and your new year resolutions haven’t been kicked to the curb, as of yet. We are excited about the Wild Card Playoff game this weekend between our Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s been a wild ride this season but the Chiefs are playing very well and we hope to see them return to another super bowl.

There was a lot of news in federal government contracting, this week and we are excited that our very own, Kevin Wickliffe was quoted in an article about the changes from Indian Health Service that strengthen support for native Americans and Alaskan natives. You can read the full article below as well as other news in federal government contracting.

Have a great weekend and go Chiefs!!!

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GAO Tested SBA on its Tribal 8(a) Verification Process and Found It Mostly Held Up

Federal and state-recognized Indian tribes and members of such tribes are presumptively socially disadvantaged, and if tribal association is verified, no further information is needed to verify social disadvantage for a Small Business Association (SBA) 8(a) program application. However, in 2021, the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that, although the process for awarding 8(a) program status involves a multi-level eligibility review, the SBA does not have a formal verification procedure for verifying the federal or state-recognized status of Indian tribes associated with tribal applications. As such, GAO was asked to evaluate the SBA’s verification of 8(a) applications claiming federal or state-recognized tribal association. The following is a summary of those findings. 

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Appeals Court Upholds Preliminary Injunction on COVID-19 Federal Contractor Vaccine Mandate

On Wednesday, January 5, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued another setback to the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal government contractors. In its opinion, the four-judge panel upheld the November 30, 2021 preliminary injunction and denied the Government’s request to stay the injunction “because the government has established none of the showings required to obtain a stay.” On appeal, the government asserted that the three states involved, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee, and two Ohio sheriffs’ offices which brought the initial claim did not have standing to bring such a case. Additionally, the government argued that even if there was standing, the Property Act authorizes the contractor mandate. However, the Court of Appeals determined all plaintiffs established standing based on four elements and held the Property Act does not authorize the President to take such action.

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