A recent GAO case on protest costs looked at whether costs were reimbursable centered around whether a Buy American Act waiver was properly applied in the procurement process. As you likely know, the Buy American Act is something many contractors (especially supply and construction contractors) must deal with in their contracting process, and getting a waiver or an exception often may be critical to a proposal. This case arose from a protest seeking costs, but it is still a great opportunity for contractors to better understand the limits of a waiver or exception of the Buy American Act and GAO’s expectations surrounding such an action.
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Week in Review: Oct. 31-Nov 4, 2022
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!
Continue readingSmallGovCon Week in Review: June 6-10, 2022
Happy Friday, Readers! We hope you had a very productive week and can take some time this weekend to relax and unwind. The start of June is proving to be a wet one here in the Midwest and the gardens and trees are loving it! Everything is so green and the spring flowers are beautiful. I’m sure the town will be filled with the sound of lawn mowers this weekend.
Here are a few noteworthy articles this week, concerning federal government contracting issues, including some policy changes on the federal management level, reports on time and materials contracts, and small business tech opportunities. We hope you can kick back, relax and carve out some leisure time this weekend. Enjoy!
Continue readingSmallGovCon Week in Review: May 9-13, 2022
Happy Friday blog readers! Hope you are having a nice week. Kick back and relax with the latest federal contracting updates.
This week saw some interesting federal contracting news. GAO has issued a new report on ways the federal government can potentially save billions of dollars in spending and improve efficiency of its programs. Additional stories include an article I’m quoted in from Bloomberg Law discussing U.S. agencies requests for brand name items in contract proposals. Read on for the details and have a great weekend!
Continue readingSmallGovCon Week in Review: February 28- March 4, 2022
Hello, Readers. As we move into spring, we at SmallGovCon have been observing the optimism of nature as winter releases its grip. Small green plant shoots are pushing their way up towards the sunshine and the trees are preparing to bud as our temperatures warm up. The birds are getting involved as well. There’s no doubt that they are enjoying the warmer weather and looking forward to spring, too. Hope you are able to observe equally inspiring things in your neck of the woods.
As usual there was a lot of news in federal government contracting, this week including articles on the future of federal government contracting, cybersecurity bills, and news on GSA multiple award contracts. Have a great weekend!
Continue readingCan’t Pad Key Personnel Résumé, Says GAO
GAO recently sustained a protest to the evaluation of an awardee’s management approach based on a material misrepresentation in its proposed key personnel experience (that the protester found on Linkedin, no less). And GAO found the misrepresentation was material because the agency relied upon it, and it significantly impacted the agency’s evaluation. Let’s take a closer look.
Continue readingGAO: Agency Has Discretion on Type of Socioeconomic Set-Aside for Procurement
From a recent GAO decision it appears that the ends can, in fact, justify the means; at least when it comes procurement set-asides for HUBZone companies. The decision is Foxhole Technology, Inc. B-419577 (May 12, 2021). In this matter, Foxhole Technology, Inc., a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, protested the Department of Education’s decision to set aside an RFQ to supply cybersecurity services for HUBZone businesses. In its protest, Foxhole argued that the agency’s decision to set aside the procurement for HUBZone small business concerns was based on inadequate market research and was therefore not justified. GAO denied the protest.
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