Basics of Small Business Fraud – SDVOSB Fraud in Government Contracts

The focus on SDVOSB fraud in government contracting has significantly increased over the last five years. Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses find themselves facing criminal conspiracy charges while also submitting false claims in an effort to defraud the government and ultimately obtain SDVOSB set-aside contracts with the VA or other government… Read more »

Native American Indian Incentive Program

On of the most under-utilized tools in federal government contracting is the Native American Indian Incentive Program (IIP) or Native Indian Incentive Program. This program is sponsored by United States Congress and allows for a 5% rebate back to prime government contractors on amounts subcontracting to Native American Indian-Owned Companies…. Read more »

Freedom of Information Act FOIA Request 5 U.S.C. 552

Sometimes government contractors under 5 U.S.C. 552 seek to get information via a Freedom of Information Act request, commonly referred to as a FOIA request, to find out information about a specific procurement or another contractor. Before you submit a FOIA request, you may want to find out if the… Read more »

Go Green Products and Federal Government Contract Purchasing

Green procurement policy is a government contracting initiative that goes undetected by many small businesses and large contractors. There are several federal “green procurement” programs that encourage green purchasing. There are several federal “go green procurement” programs that encourage green purchasing. They include: the Green Procurement Program (GPP)Environmentally Preferable Purchasing (EPP),… Read more »

Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business SDVOSB Fraud Cases

In service-disabled veteran-owned small business SDVOSB fraud cases, and as a result of Public Law 109-461, the VA is authorized to award SDVOSB sole source contracts and/or set aside contracts for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses (SDVOSB). From 01/01/2008 to 09/30/2014, the VA OIG Office of Investigations indicted 44 individuals/companies; arrested 40… Read more »

FAR IDIQ Contract & Government Minimum Payment

How to Avoid Costly Mistakes With an IDIQ Contract and Dealing  With the Government Minimum Payment Guarantee The United States federal government and its procurement agencies use a variety of IDIQ contract vehicles to procure services and products. One typical example is the indefinite-delivery / indefinite-quantity IDIQ contract vehicle. By… Read more »

FAR Source Selection Evaluation Board Decisions

Government contracting agencies’ Source Selection Board decisions often come under fire in bid protest when there is a large and complex acquisition.  The evaluation board helps the contracting officer to develop the source selection plan. The plan is supposed to evaluate bidders against the proposal evaluation criteria. However, government contracting agencies… Read more »

What is the Best Value Contract Award Procurement Process?

Was the Government Procurement Process for Your Bid Properly Applied? What are Your Options? Theodore P Watson, Esq. Federal government agencies tend to use the best value contracting procurement process as the preferred proposal evaluation criteria. The idea is to use taxpayer dollars to buy the best quality and value of… Read more »

Walking the Tightrope: Procurement Compliance and Over-Compliance

Striking a balance between conservatively following government contract regulations and allowing your business to run effectively without over-compliance is not an easy road to hoe. Whether your business’ procurement compliance program is non-existent and may result in government authority knocking at the door at any moment or is over-burdensome and… Read more »

FAR Code of Ethics for Contractors

In 2008, under FAR 52.203-13, “Contractor Code of Conduct and Business Ethics and Conduct” – the clause promulgated that appears in all Federal prime contracts that exceed $5 million and have a period of performance of 120 days or more and is required to be included in subcontracts of that dollar… Read more »