Event: SDVOSB Programs Webinar, Hosted by Govology

The federal government spends more than $20 billion annually on contracts with service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. But the rules governing SDVOSB eligibility can be complex and confusing – starting with the fact that the government runs not one, but two SDVOSB programs.

On January 14, join me for a webinar, hosted by our friends at Govology, covering the ins-and-outs of Uncle Sam’s SDVOSB programs. In this session, I will demystify the key SDVOSB eligibility requirements in plain English and provide an update on some major pending changes to the SDVOSB programs. It’s easy to register: just follow this link. I hope to see you (virtually, anyway) on January 14!

OHA: Multiple Service-Disabled Veterans Control Company, Despite Internal Dispute

Control over a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business can be held by multiple service-disabled veterans. Having control reside in multiple individuals can make things a little more complicated, though. SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals recently examined a situation where multiple service-disabled veterans shared control of a company, but did not have a united front when responding to information requests concerning a company’s eligibility.

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SBA Rule Tamps Down Joint Venture Unequivocal Control Requirement

The SBA’s new rule on Consolidation of Mentor-Protégé Programs contained a lot of updates. One of those concerned the level of control that a lead joint venture member has to have over a joint venture.

In particular, SBA now says that the lead venturer doesn’t have to have unequivocal control as the Office of Hearings and Appeals had suggested in the past. The other joint venture partners can have some say in the joint venture, but how much?

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Five Things You Should Know: The SDVOSB “Extraordinary Circumstances” Rule

If you’re part of a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, you’ve probably heard of the “extraordinary circumstances” rule–but there’s a lot of confusion out there about what the rule is and how it works.

So let’s get right to it. Here are five things you should know about the SDVOSB extraordinary circumstances rule.

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OHA Denies Protest: Veteran Didn’t Need to List Disability on Social Media

The SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals denied an SDVOSB-status protest recently where the protester’s main argument amounted to an allegation that the owner of a competitor failed to identify on social media that he had a service-related disability.

OHA called the allegation “completely without merit.”

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VA Updates, Expands, and Clarifies Its Verification Assistance Briefs

The VA and SBA have numerous regulations defining the eligibility requirements for participation in the veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small business programs. To help laypersons better understand these regulatory hurdles the VA publishes Verification Assistance Briefs.

These “are resources to assist applicants in obtaining VA Verification for the Veterans First Contracting Program” and understand SBA’s ownership and control criteria. The VA recently updated all of its existing Briefs and added some new ones. Read on for an overview of the 26 Briefs and a more detailed look at some of the more notable ones.

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