Last week, the House of Representatives voted to amend the Department of Transportation’s (“DOT”) definition of Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (“DBEs”) to include Veteran-Owned Small Business Concerns (“VOSBs”). This was accomplished by passing the “Fairness to Veterans for Infrastructure Investment Act of 2015” (the “Bill”). As the Bill states, its purpose is to improve contracting opportunities for veteran-owned small business concerns, and that is just what will happen if the Bill is signed into law.
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VA Proposes Changes to VOSB/SDVOSB Regulations, Aims for Consistency with COFC Ruling in Cohen Seglias’ Miles Construction Case
Listen up, VOSBs and SDVOSBs! Major changes are in store for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ VOSB/SDVOSB program.
On November 6, 2015, the VA issued a proposed rule, which could drastically change the way the two eligibility requirements for VOSBs and SDVOSBs are interpreted. The VA explained the changes as follows:
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The 2015 National Veterans Small Business Engagement
Please join us on Nove
mber 18th and 19th for Maria Panichelli’s three seminars at the 2015 National Veterans Small Business Engagement in Pittsburgh, PA. To view the dates and times of Maria’s seminars, and to register, visit the NVSBE website.
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SBA Size Protest Reminds Us That There is an Exception to Every Rule
The Small Business Administration (“SBA”) recently issued a favorable decision on behalf of a firm client in a size determination case, and we wanted to share information from that decision with you. While the decision is unpublished, it serves as a reminder of an important exception to the small business contracting rules relating to joint ventures and set aside contracts.
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Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Small Business Government Contracting
Please join
us for Maria Panichelli and Amy Kirby’s seminar, “Avoiding Common Pitfalls in Small Business Government Contracting,” for the District of Columbia Procurement Technical Assistance Center (DC PTAC) on November 5th in Washington, D.C.
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The SBA Offers Some Specifics on the Expansion of the Mentor-Protégé Program
As ma
ny of you already know, back in February 2015, the SBA issued its long-awaited proposed rule aimed at expanding its mentor-protégé program. The proposed regulations implement changes introduced by the Jobs Act of 2010 and the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, and would permit firms, other than those that are 8(a) Certified, to participate in the mentor-protégé program. Moreover, if the proposed rule becomes final, all of the companies participating in the revamped program will be able to take advantage of the exclusion from affiliation. While this was great news for many at the time, it has been almost nine months since this rule was issued and there has been no sign of any further action by the SBA. Many of our clients have been asking when the SBA is actually going to put these changes into effect. Well, it seems like we might finally have an answer.
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Third Circuit Allows for Offset when Calculating Loss in DBE Fraud Cases
In United States v. Nagle, the Third Circuit provided instruction on how to calculate the amount of “loss” defendants are attributed when being sentenced in a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (“DBE”) fraud case. Going forward, in a DBE fraud case, the loss calculation must include consideration of the fair market value of the services rendered to the government under the affected contract, or contracts.
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Legal Landscape: Big Changes to Prevent Discrimination, Fraud and Non-Compliance
Wel
come to the second edition of Legal Landscape, a series we have developed with Onvia’s blog to provide government contractors with a quick, but thorough, summary of important legal developments and regulations in government contracting, as well as a plain-English explanation of how those developments may affect contractors at all levels of government. In this issue, we discuss recent compliance and enforcement trends in federal as well as state and local government contracting. State and local contractors should keep in mind that state and local agencies often look to changes in federal regulations as a guideline; changes recently made in the federal arena are likely to trickle down to state and local governments soon.
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Edward DeLisle and Maria Panichelli Team with Onvia to Publish Periodical Government Contracting Series, Legal Landscape
Exciting news! We recently teamed up with Onvia, a well-known government contracting resource delivering the necessary data, business intelligence, analytics and tools to help clients succeed in the government market. In addition to our continued posts on this blog, we will now be publishing a series called Legal Landscape on Onvia’s blog. The quarterly series is specifically designed to provide government contractors with a quick, but thorough, summary of important legal developments, as well as a plain-English explanation of how those developments may affect you.
Guilty By Affiliation
Recently, Maria Panichelli was interviewed by Raymond Thibodeaux from AOC Key Solutions for a podcast entitled “Guilty by Affiliation.” During this podcast, Maria and Ray spoke about a variety of affiliation-related issues. Topics covered included the various types of affiliation, the consequences of being deemed “affiliated” with another business, and, perhaps most importantly,