Many small businesses that are doing business with the federal government have probably heard of SBA affiliation rules but never really pay attention to it. The reality it can be a very dangerous weapon when your competition files a small business size protest to the SBA alleging ostensible subcontractor affiliation… Read more »
Compared to regularly solicited proposals by the federal government, writing FAR Part 15.6 unsolicited proposals can be a daunting process. Further filing a bid protest regarding the agency’s improper rejection of your unsolicited proposal can be that much more difficult. However, the US Federal Circuit Court of Appeals outlined the… Read more »
Government contractors sometimes have to make a decision to engage in protesting federal government contract awards. This level of litigation can be brought before the contracting agency, the Government Accountability Office, or the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. To help to make the process easier, companies should start the decision… Read more »
When the federal government’s contracting agency tries to justify lower past performance evaluation scores, your company at first glance may find it hard to challenge the decision in a bid protest. As in every litigation case, facts drive almost everything. Bid protests based on contractor past performance have less than… Read more »
Possible relief to named subcontractors in government bids: Under the new SBA regulations, there seems to be some relief to small businesses that are named as subcontractors and teaming partners but are never used on the contract. This seems to be an increasing problem across the United States. In previous… Read more »
By virtue of congressional mandates and FAR regulations for small business firms, and under the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the Small Business Administration regulations (SBA) has made recent changes to various SBA affiliation rules that regulate government contracts for small businesses including those set aside for designated SBA programs and… Read more »
The SBA adopted new rules and revised 13 CFR 126.200(b)(6). HUBZ Ones small businesses must still comply with the required subcontracting requirements in the performance work statement. In other words, the company must certify in its bid that it will company with the limitation on subcontracting requirements with respect to… Read more »
Government Fight and Arguments for Why its Solicitation Was Unduly Restrictive of Competition Came too Late. In a recent bid protest filed by Pitney Bowes, Inc., of Washington, DC, the U.S. GAO sustained the protest against Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Pitney Bowes litigated the case on… Read more »
The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC) ruled against the Court of Federal Claims decision on a Request for Equitable Adjustment Claim (REA) against Agility Defense for increased cost under the provisions of FAR 16.503. The Appeals from the Claims Court was due to denial of a government… Read more »
Caution: Violations of the Ostensible Contractor Rule Result in Lost Contracts Given the new SBA subcontractor rules and regulations, subcontractors should pay special attention to whether or not they still can be ostensibly affiliated. Although the new SBA affiliation rules relax the possibility of becoming affiliated, the Ostensible Subcontractor Rule… Read more »