SDVOSBs and VOSBs are big winners today, as the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the VA’s “rule of two” is mandatory, and applies to all VA procurements–including GSA Schedule orders.
The Supreme Court’s decision in Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States, No. 14-916 (2016) means that the VA will be required to truly put “Veterans First” in all of its procurement actions–which is what Kingdomware, and many veterans’ advocates, have fought for all along.
While it may be April Fools’ Day, we promise not to play any pranks on you–not that I didn’t think about a headline trumpeting a major change in the 8(a) program, linked to a video of Rick Astley.
Instead of pranks, it’s time for our weekly dose of government contracting news and notes from around the country. In this edition of SmallGovCon Week In Review, you will find articles covering a potential shift in GSA schedules, the State Department’s audit findings on procurement waste, a billion dollar award is split between 21 vendors to tackle the short and long term needs of the VA’s IT department, the second part of my interview with GovBizConnect, and much more.
The VA and Kingdomware Technologies Inc. haven’t agreed on much in recent years, but in briefs filed with the Supreme Court on November 20, 2015, they agree on one thing: the pending Kingdomware Supreme Court case is not moot.
Hopefully, the fact that neither party wants the case dismissed on a technicality will help convince the Court to decide Kingdomware on the merits.
An agency may not procure new services under an existing GSA Schedule delivery order if the new services exceed scope of the original delivery order.
In a recent decision, Onix Networking Corp., B-411841 (Nov. 9, 2015), the GAO sustained a protest where the agency acquired a new type of software by modifying an existing delivery order for software license extensions because the acquisition exceeded the scope of the initial delivery order. According to the GAO, the out-of-scope modification amounted to an improper sole source contract.
When an agency orders goods or services using the GSA Schedule, the ordered items generally must be on the awardee’s Schedule contract as of the date of the order–but need not be on the Schedule contract at an earlier date.
In a recent bid protest decision, the GAO held that an agency had properly awarded a GSA Schedule order even though the awardee did not have the ordered services on its Schedule contract at the time of its offer, because the awardee’s GSA Schedule contract was modified to include those services by the date of the order.
As the summer begins winding down, there is no shortage of government contracting news. In this week’s SmallGovCon Week in Review, contractors push back against the executive order on sick leave, steps are being taken to strengthen cybersecurity requirements for contractors, the GAO recommends that agencies pursue deeper discounts when using the GSA Schedule, and more.
Agencies are not required to investigate the availability of small business offerors when ordering goods and services off the Federal Supply Schedule, even if multiple small business concerns would be able to compete for the contract.
As the GAO recently held in Walker Development & Trading Group, B-411357 (July 8, 2015), the small business preferences found in the Small Business Act do not apply when an agency uses the FSS.