The Contracting Education Academy

Contracting Academy Logo
  • Home
  • Training & Education
  • Services
  • Contact Us
You are here: Home / Archives for SAT

January 5, 2021 By cs

Academy launches webpage containing Coronavirus information for contracting officers and contractors

The Contracting Education Academy, a Georgia Tech unit dedicated to supporting the professional education needs of the government’s contracting workforce, has launched a special webpage devoted to providing information and guidance dealing with the impact of COVID-19 on federal contracts.
Click on image above to visit the webpage.

The webpage, located here, presents helpful information to both contracting officials and contractors who are navigating the current contracting environment.

Numerous topics are addressed on the webpage.  For Contracting Officers and other members of the federal acquisition workforce, topics include:

  • Teleworking by contractor employees
  • Quarantine restrictions and excusable delays
  • Equitable adjustments
  • Extending performance periods
  • Contract modifications
  • Maintaining a contractor state of readiness
  • Application of the Stafford Act
  • Communication and transparency in contract administration
  • DoD emergency acquisition and preparedness
  • Tracking COVID-19 contract spending
  • The Defense Production Act
  • The Defense Priorities and Allocations System
  • GSA Schedule purchasing
  • Fraud and price gouging

For the contractor community, the following topics are addressed on the webpage:

  • Preventing workplace exposure and risks
  • Identifying critical infrastructure industries
  • The System for Award Management (SAM)
  • Excusable delay contract provisions
  • Changes clauses
  • Obligation to perform
  • The Defense Priorities and Allocations System
  • DoD progress payments
  • Sales through GSA Schedules
  • Advice for small businesses
  • Economic disaster loans
  • The Families First Coronavirus Response Act

Additional information and updates will be added as often as daily to the site.  We suggest you bookmark the site now and check back frequently for the latest news involving the impact of coronavirus on federal contracts.

Filed Under: Academy News Tagged With: acquisition workforce, change orders, contract administration, contractor performance, coronavirus, COVID-19, critical infrastructure industries, Defense Priorities and Allocations System, DoD, emergency contracting, equitable adjustment, excusable delay, Families First Coronavirus Response Act, GSA Schedules, loans, micropurchase, progress payments, quarantine, SAM, SAT, simplified acquisition threshold, Stafford Act, telework, threshold

March 24, 2020 By cs

Agencies initiate emergency acquisition authorities

The Defense Department raised its threshold for 8(a) sole source contracts to $100 million as required by the 2020 Defense authorization bill. While not related to coronavirus outbreak, the timing is important.

At least four agencies have implemented emergency acquisition authorities to make it easier to award contracts to support coronavirus relief efforts.

The General Services Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the IRS raised the micro-purchase threshold (MPT) and the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT) in the last week.

The Defense Department on March 17 raised the threshold for sole source 8(a) contracts to $100 million as required under the 2020 Defense authorization bill.

This is a huge increase, given typically the threshold for 8(a) contracts at DoD has been $22 million.  Congress increased the threshold for the first time since 2015.

For the rest of the government, the 8(a) sole source threshold is $7 million for manufacturing requirements or $4 million for all other requirements.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/acquisition-policy/2020/03/agencies-initiate-emergency-acquisition-authorities/

The Contracting Education Academy at Georgia Tech has established a webpage where all contract-related developments related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) are summarized.  Find the page at: https://contractingacademy.gatech.edu/coronavirus-information-for-contracting-officers-and-contractors/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: 8(a), acquisition workforce, contractor performance, coronavirus, COVID-19, DoD, micropurchase, SAT, simplified acquisition threshold, sole source, threshold

March 3, 2020 By cs

Overstock.com protest could delay GSA commercial e-marketplace pilots until April or beyond

The General Services Administration (GSA) recently responded to an Overstock.com protest of the agency’s commercial e-marketplace solicitation, which could delay pilots until April — assuming revisions aren’t ordered.

Overstock filed its pre-award bid protest with the Government Accountability Office on Jan. 15 arguing some of the solicitation’s terms are ambiguous and restrict competition. The internet retailer further argued GSA didn’t allow sufficient time for companies to respond, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

Overstock had until Feb. 24 to respond to GSA’s agency report based on anything it learns. The protest itself is covered by a protective order limiting disclosure to lawyers for the private parties.

Section 846 of the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act directed GSA to work with nontraditional government contractors on allowing agencies to purchase up to $250,000 — the simplified acquisition threshold — in commercial items. GSA’s initial pilot will focus on e-marketplaces like Amazon or Overstock, where competition between sellers occurs at the item level.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.fedscoop.com/overstock-gsa-e-marketplace-protest/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: bid protest, competition, e-marketplace, fair and open competition, GAO, NDAA, noncompetitive, pre-award protest, protest, SAT, simplified acquisition threshold, solicitation

May 21, 2018 By AMK

GAO clarifies competition standards for simplified acquisitions

A recent GAO decision has shed light on the question of what an agency must do to adequately promote competition during a simplified acquisition.

There is still no bright line for determining which agency actions meet this threshold.  However, the recent decision in Bluehorse Corp., B-415641 et al. (Feb. 6, 2018), established that merely inquiring about a solicitation, without taking further action as recommended by the procuring agency, is not enough to force an agency to include a company in a limited competition.

To promote contracting efficiency, the FAR allows for special simplified acquisition procedures to be applied to certain procurements that do not exceed the regulatory threshold. An agency is not required to use the ordinary full and open competition standards to conduct these simplified acquisition procurements. However, what exactly is required of a federal agency under a simplified acquisition procedure has yet to be clearly defined by the applicable provisions of the FAR and the relevant GAO case law. The FAR requires the agency to “promote competition to the maximum extent practicable” and establishes that this standard can generally be met through the solicitation of at least three sources. See FAR § 13.104.

Keep reading this article at: http://smallgovcon.com/gaobidprotests/gao-clarifies-competition-standards-for-simplified-acquisitions/

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: competition, DSBS, fair and open competition, FAR, full and open competition, GAO, SAP, SAT, SBA, simplified acquisition

September 5, 2017 By AMK

Micro-purchase and simplified acquisition thresholds raised for Hurricane Harvey response

The General Services Administration (GSA) has issued a directive allowing federal agencies engaged in emergency relief activities to raise dollar thresholds at which streamlined procurement rules can be used.

Under GSA’s temporary rules, the micro-purchase threshold is raised from $3,500 to $20,000.  (In a recent Class Deviation, the Dept. of Defense raised its standard micro-purchase threshold to $5,000.)  In addition, GSA raised the simplified acquisition threshold from $150,000 to $750,000 for non-commercial items and from $6.5-$7.0 million to $13 million for commercial items.

With micro-purchases the federal agencies can bypass many of the ordinary competitive requirements under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR).   For instances, holders of Governmentwide purchase cards (GPC) can make contract awards without soliciting competitive quotations if they consider prices to be fair and reasonable.  Micro-purchases do not require provisions or clauses.  The FAR’s detailed rules on micro-purchases are set forth primarily in FAR 13.2.

FAR Part 13 governs purchasing below the simplified acquisition threshold.  It sets forth shorter terms and conditions, especially in the areas of reporting requirements and subcontracting. Simplified acquisition transactions above the micro-purchase threshold are reserved for small businesses.

The threshold increases will remain in effect until December 31, 2017.

GSA’s new guidance is tied to the Presidential declaration of Hurricane Harvey as a “major disaster.”   Meeting the legal definition of “emergency” in GSA’s FAR Class Deviation entitled Exercise of Special Emergency Procurement Authorities means that the emergency acquisition flexibilities listed in FAR 18.2 are available for use, along with the existing acquisition flexibilities enumerated in FAR 18.1.

Agency contracting officers are required to give preference to local firms in the disaster area in accordance with the Stafford Act, implemented at FAR 26.2.  GSA notes that contracting officers should first consider small business local area set-asides when feasible.

GSA’s Aug. 29, 2017 memorandum entitled “Relief Efforts for Hurricane Harvey” is at: https://gsa.gov/portal/getMediaData?mediaId=168826

Filed Under: Government Contracting News Tagged With: class deviation, DoD, emergency contracting, FAR, GSA, Hurricane Harvey, local business, micro purchase, micropurchase, SAT, simplified acquisition, small business, threshold

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

Popular Topics

abuse acquisition reform acquisition strategy acquisition training acquisition workforce Air Force Army AT&L bid protest budget budget cuts competition cybersecurity DAU DFARS DHS DoD DOJ FAR fraud GAO Georgia Tech GSA GSA Schedule GSA Schedules IG industrial base information technology innovation IT Justice Dept. Navy NDAA OFPP OMB OTA Pentagon procurement reform protest SBA sequestration small business spending technology VA
Contracting Academy Logo
75 Fifth Street, NW, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30308
info@ContractingAcademy.gatech.edu
Phone: 404-894-6109
Fax: 404-410-6885

RSS Twitter

Search this Website

Copyright © 2023 · Georgia Tech - Enterprise Innovation Institute