The shutdown dominated government contracts headlines this week, and rightfully so.
This week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review features plenty of shutdown coverage, including several pieces focusing on small businesses. But the week’s government contracts news and commentary also included a welcome drop in wait times for VA SDVOSB applications, Guy Timberlake’s insights on government spending through procurement vehicles versus standalone contracts, and more.
A service-disabled veteran, who owned 80% of this business and served as its highest officer, “controlled” the company within the meaning of the SBA’s SDVOSB regulations, according to a recent decision of the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.
SBA OHA’s commonsense decision overturned an earlier SBA determination that the veteran’s majority ownership and officer position did not amount to “control.”
In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, the American Legion asks an appellate court to overturn the infamous Kingdomware SDVOSB decision, the Office of Management and Budget prepares for a potential government shutdown, a blogger writes that despite new rules, small subcontractors may be mistreated by large primes, and much more.
The SBA’s claim that it could not access information provided by an 8(a) program applicant in DVD format was “not credible,” according to a recent 8(a) program appeal ruling issued by the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals.
In Sunrise Staffing, SBA No. BDPE-499 (2013), the SBA OHA–in an unusually sharply-worded opinion–rejected the SBA’s excuses for not reviewing relevant information provided by the 8(a) program applicant, and granted the applicant’s 8(a) appeal.
SmallGovCon is now more than a year old (time flies!) and it’s time to make a few changes to enhance the site for our regular readers (and those who have yet to become regular readers).
As part of that effort, I am pleased to announce the debut of SmallGovCon Week In Review. Every Friday, SmallGovCon Week In Review will spotlight a number of current news articles, editorials, and other writings.
In this week’s SmallGovCon Week In Review, the Washington Post focuses on the VA’s SDVOSB program, Federal News Radio spotlights new Department of Labor hiring benchmarks for federal contractors, Washington Technology offers advice from three of the country’s fastest-growing government contractors, and much more.
Today, Congressman Mike Coffman introduced the Improving Opportunities for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses Act of 2013.
The bill would standardize the requirements for SDVOSB eligibility, eliminating the current differences between the SBA’s and VA’s regulations. In addition, the bill would transfer responsibility for verifying SDVOSB status to the SBA (the VA would retain authority for determining whether an individual is a service-disabled veteran).
Hardy Stone’s website, VetLikeMe, has a more detailed summary of the bill. I will be closely tracking this legislation and will post updates if and when it moves forward.
A SDVOSB joint venture was not eligible for award of a SDVOB set-aside contract because its joint venture agreement called for certain decisions to be made by supermajority vote.
As explained by the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals in its decision finding the SDVOSB joint venture ineligible, the supermajority provision undermined the regulatory requirement that a SDVOSB joint venture be managed by an eligible SDVOSB.