By: Michael H. Payne and Edward T. DeLisle
The U.S. Small Business Administration published a package of final rules on February 11, 2011, that will revise the regulations of its 8(a) Business Development program to better ensure that the benefits flow to the intended recipients and help prevent waste, fraud and abuse. The rules were published
Small Business Contracting
SBA Offers Federal Contract Program for Women-Owned Small Businesses
By: Edward T. DeLisle
As of Friday, February 4, 2011, women-owned small businesses could begin taking steps to participate in a new federal contracting program just for them. The new Women-Owned Small Business ("WOSB") Federal Contract Program (the "Program") will be fully implemented over the next several months, with the first contracts expected to be…
The Department of Veteran Affairs Ushers in Mentor-Protégé Program
By: Edward T. DeLisle
On December 22, 2010, the VA announced that it had selected the first twenty (20) mentor-protégé teams to participate in its newly minted Mentor-Protégé Program. The program is designed to assist firms that have already been verified as veteran-owned or service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses by the VA. Eligible firms are…
SBA Providing Assistance to Fund Teaming Efforts
By: Edward T. DeLisle
The SBA issued a press release yesterday regarding its new “Small Business Teaming Pilot Program”, which was established as part of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010. The program will involve “training, guidance, counseling, mentoring and procurement assistance to small businesses” that are interested in teaming arrangements on federal…
VA Moving Forward with Verification Process
By: Edward T. DeLisle
This week the Department of Veteran’s Affairs announced that it will require all companies that wish to receive set-aside contracts as veteran-owned, or service-disabled, veteran-owned, businesses to verify their status. This announcement was made as part of the 2010 Veteran’s Benefit Act and is geared toward eliminating fraud and abuse. As…
Set-Asides Contracts for Women-Owned Businesses a Reality?
By: Edward T. DeLisle
On October 4, 2010, the Small Business Administration issued a Final Rule allowing for the implementation of the long-awaited set-aside program for women-owned businesses. The program is designed to assist federal agencies in achieving the current 5% statutory goal for the award of contracts to such companies. Pursuant to the current…
Veterans Win Significant Procurement Battle
By: Edward T. DeLisle & Craig Schroeder
Last year, the United States Association of Veterans in Business (“USAVETBIZ”) urged Congress for a government-wide preference in contracting and set-aside programs that extended the existing preference for service-disabled veteran owned small businesses (“SDVOSB”) to all veteran-owned small businesses. While that has not happened yet, the set aside…
Congress Acts, Ends HUBZone Priority
By: Edward T. DeLisle
On September 23, 2010, we wrote an article regarding the current status of the HUBZone priority fight between the GAO, the Court of Federal Claims and a number of federal agencies. That article followed another that we wrote on this issue on August 27, 2010. In a series of…
Government Agencies Defy GAO, Court Positions on HUBZone Priority
By: Edward T. DeLisle
On August 27th, we posted an article regarding the recent Court of Federal Claims case, DGR Associates, Inc. v. United States. In that case, the protesting contractor took the position that the government agency, the Air Force, failed to follow the direction of Congress in determining how to set aside…
HUBZone Priority Upheld by the Courts
By: Edward T. DeLisle
On August 13th, the Court of Federal Claims temporarily ended a controversy regarding how agencies go about setting aside contracts for certain qualified small businesses. DGR Associates, Inc. v. United States involved a decision by the Air Force to issue a set aside contract for qualified 8(a) companies. The project involved housing maintenance…
