set-aside | The Contracting Education Academy

May 8, 2013 By AMK

Contracting officers now able to set-aside contracts of any dollar amount to WOSBs

An interim final rule published May 7, 2013 in the Federal Register and effective immediately will amend regulations to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Program allowing for greater access to federal contracting opportunities for women-owned businesses as a result of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013 (NDAA) signed in January.

The interim final rule removes the anticipated award price of the contract thresholds for women-owned small businesses (WOSB) and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (EDWOSB) to allow them greater access to federal contracting opportunities without limitations to the size of the contract. The rule can be accessed at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-05-07/html/2013-10841.htm and comments can be submitted on or before June 6, 2013, at www.regulations.gov, identified by the following RIN number: RIN 3245-AG55.

As a result of the rule change, contracting officers will be able to set aside specific contracts for certified WOSBs and EDWOSBs at any dollar level which will help federal agencies achieve the existing statutory goal of five percent of federal contracting dollars being awarded to WOSBs. The SBA is currently working on the changes to the Federal Acquisition Regulations.

Prior to the rule change, the anticipated award price of the contract for women-owned and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses could not exceed $6.5 million for manufacturing contracts and $4 million for all other contracts.

Every firm that wishes to participate in the WOSB program must meet the eligibility requirements and either self-certify or obtain third party certification. There are four approved third-party certifiers that perform eligibility exams: El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, National Women Business Owners Corporation, U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council. Additional information and links about approved third-party certifiers are available at: http://www.sba.gov/content/contracting-opportunities-women-owned-small-businesses

To qualify as a WOSB, a firm must be at least fifty-one percent owned and controlled by one or more women, and primarily managed by one or more women. The women must be U.S. citizens and the firm must be considered small according to SBA size standards. To be deemed “economically disadvantaged,” a firm’s owners must meet specific financial requirements set forth in the program regulations.

The WOSB Program identifies eighty-three four-digit North American Industry Classification Systems (NAICS) codes where WOSBs are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented. Contracting officers may set aside contracts in these industries if the contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price and the contracting officer has a reasonable expectation that two or more WOSBs or EDWOSBs will submit offers for the contract.

For more information on the Women-Owned Federal Small Business Contract Program or to access the instructions, applications or database, please visit www.sba.gov/wosb.

April 3, 2013 By AMK

Groups say veteran-owned contracting still broken

Despite a history of complaints to Congress and the Department of Veterans Affairs, veterans advocacy groups say VA is still placing far too many hurdles in front of veteran-owned small businesses in its contracting program. VA, meanwhile, says it’s making changes.

VA’s programs for preferentially awarding contracts to veteran-owned small businesses are unlike those of any other agency in government. In a 2006 law, Congress told VA to take a “veterans first” approach to procurement, making service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses its first choice for any given contract and all other veteran-owned small businesses its second choice.

But to deter fraud, Congress also told VA to set up a system to verify contractors’ veteran status before they could get set-aside contracts. That set up a careful balancing act for the agency between detecting potential fraud and making the process as easy as possible for legitimate veteran-owned businesses. And veterans groups are telling Congress VA has allowed that scale to fall way too far in one direction.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/65/3257550/Groups-say-veteran-owned-contracting-still-broken.

December 18, 2012 By AMK

SBA misapplying policy on sole-source contracts, GAO says

The Small Business Administration lacks a process for assuring that agencies provide sufficient justification for awarding sole-source contracts to SBA-preferred contractors, the Government Accountability Office reported Wednesday.

Auditors reviewed 72 sole-source contracts worth $20 million or more in the 8(a) program designed to benefit Alaska native corporations since 2009. Under a change in the Federal Acquisition Regulation mandated by the fiscal 2010 National Defense Authorization Act, agencies are required to spell out their justification for not awarding the work to competing contractors.

Contracting preferences for Alaska native corporations have led to cases of fraud perpetrated by front companies.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2012/12/sba-misapplying-policy-sole-source-contracts-gao-says/60153/?oref=govexec_today_nl.

December 13, 2012 By AMK

Senate’s 2013 defense authorization bill would remove dollar limits on WOSB contracting

The 2013 defense authorization bill passed last week by the Senate includes a provision that would remove caps on contract set-asides for women-owned small businesses.

The Senate-passed bill also includes an amendment approved on Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 to remove current limits on the dollar value of federal contracts awarded to women-owned small businesses. The bill also calls for the Small Business Administration to conduct a study every five years to examine disparities in the North American Industry Classification System code.

Advocates for women in contracting had for nearly a decade argued that the cap of $4 million for goods and services contracts and $6.5 million on manufacturing contracts discouraged contracting officers from taking the trouble to solicit women-owned businesses.

December 3, 2012 By AMK

Court rules VA can ignore set-asides for veteran-owned businesses on GSA Schedule buys

The Department of Veterans Affairs takes the position that it is not obligated to consider veteran-owned businesses on goods and services it buys through GSA’s Federal Supply Schedule, and now the VA has a court decision that backs its stance.

On November 27, 2012, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled that the VA has discretion to procure goods and services from GSA’s Federal Supply Schedule without first considering a set-aside acquisition for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) or veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs).

The ruling is a departure from several recent U.S. Government Accountability Office decisions. The GAO has consistently ruled that the VA must comply with the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006 before conducting a GSA Schedule buy. The 2006 Act created the “Veterans First” contracting program that gives priority to SDVOSBs and VOSBs in VA acquisitions. The VA has maintained that the GAO’s interpretation of the 2006 Act was wrong and instructed its contracting officers to not apply the “Veterans First” principles to Schedule contracting.

The Kingdomware case represents the first time a court has ruled on the question of whether the GSA Schedule program is influenced by the terms of the “Veterans First” program.

In siding with the VA’s position, the Kingdomware decision found that the 2006 Act “is at best ambiguous as to whether it mandates a preference for SDVOSBs and VOSBs for all VA procurements.” The Federal Claims Court ruled:

The [VA] Secretary’s discretion to set contracting goals for SDVOSBs and VOSBs under the [“Veterans First” Act] contradicts plaintiff’s interpretation of the statute as creating a mandatory SDVOSB and VOSB set-aside procedure for each and every procurement . . . the goal-setting nature of the statute clouds the clarity plaintiff would attribute to the phrase “shall award” . . . and renders the [“Veterans First”] ambiguous as to its application to other procurement vehicles, such as the FSS [GSA’s Federal Supply Schedule].

The bottom line of the Kingdomware decision is that the VA did not act arbitrarily and capriciously when it used GSA Schedule contracts without first determining the appropriateness of a set-aside for SDVOSBs or VOSBs.

The full decision can be downloaded here: Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States.

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