Hello readers and happy Friday! We hope you had a nice 4th of July and were able to spend some time with friends and family. This week’s round-up of federal government news, includes some cautionary tales on why defrauding the government is a very bad idea, the impact of the Boeing guilty plea on its federal contracts, and commentary on the Percipient.ai case and its effect on COFC jurisdiction.
Have a great weekend!
Continue readingThe federal small business representation system relies in some part on self-certification and in some part on review by the Small Business Administration (SBA) and protests by competitors. The System for Award Management (SAM) is one key part of the federal procurement apparatus. Small businesses looking to take advantage of SBA’s socioeconomic programs must be registered in SAM, and crucially, must maintain up-to-date information in the system. Failure to do so can carry severe consequences, ranging from suspension and disbarment to civil and/or criminal penalties, including massive fines and even imprisonment. We’ve written before about some of the confusion contractors may have regarding self-reporting in SAM.
A recent General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report is a reminder to federal contractors about the importance of being accurate in representing small business status. It details several investigations into small business misrepresentations, and reminds contractors of the severe penalties that can result from misrepresentation. In this post we’ll highlight the examples provided by GSA OIG to show just what is at stake when a small business fails to update (or knowingly misrepresents) their status, and offer some clarification of the Federal Acquisition Regulations to help you avoid similarly extreme penalties.
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Good morning and happy Friday! After the heatwave and rain the tomatoes are starting to ripen here in the Midwest. It’s always fun to visit our local farmer’s market at this time of the year to take advantage of the abundant harvest. We hope you had a great week and have some fun things planned for the weekend.
This week in federal government contracting news, be sure to look at articles related to an overview of governmentwide contracting, thoughts about government buying forecasts, and potential AI rules for federal agencies.
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Happy Friday and we hope you had an enjoyable Juneteenth. Yesterday was the first day of summer and our humidity was a balmy 96% on the first official day! Whew…so hot. I think that everyone here would agree that we hope that won’t be the norm. We hope you have a great weekend and find a nice cool place to read the articles we have included below. Enjoy!
This week in federal government contracting news: agencies are cracking down on everything from cybersecurity to discrimination in the federal marketplace; GAO is pushing for faster and more private procurements; Artificial Intelligence continues to make its way into government acquisitions and may even aid in disabled veterans living independently; and GSA schedules and our U.S. Supply Chains continue to grow in strength and popularity. Read about these and other happenings in the procurement world below.
Continue readingMany contractors utilize a GSA schedule contract to provide the Government with their products and/or services. After all the effort it takes to get on a GSA schedule contract, a contractor would certainly not want to lose its chance at a small business task orders issued under it, just because it’s circumstances have changed since it first got the schedule contract as a small business. In a recent decision, the SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (“OHA”) confirmed that even if a business changes size after being awarded a GSA schedule contract, it can still compete for small business task orders from a Blanket Purchase Agreement (“BPA”) awarded under it.
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Happy Friday! The weather gave us a taste of summer with a heat index of over 100 degrees here in the Midwest. We are grateful for air conditioning here at SmallGovCon. We hope you have been staying cool and have some fun things planned for the weekend. Enjoy!
This week in federal government contracting news there is buzz about AI procurement, supply chain risks, and timing changes on the 8(a) and WOSBS programs from SBA.
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Happy Friday! March Madness is upon us! For you college basketball fans, it’s a great time of year. The upsets keep things exciting, even if they do bust everyone’s brackets. I guess that’s what makes March Madness so maddening and exciting–one can never predict the outcome. Listening to the news out of the federal government can sometimes feel like March Madness.
So, before you start your weekend of studying those basketball stats, here are some things that happened in federal government contracting this week. These include updates on government spending bills, AI, and use of apprentices. Have a wonderful weekend.
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