On August 23, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule that would make significant changes to SBA’s recertification requirements. Most notably, the rule would change when size and socioeconomic...more
The Department of Defense (DoD) has long searched for ways to foster innovation in the defense industrial base by harnessing US comparative advantages like our capital markets and American technological innovation...more
In a recent decision, the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) affirmed a Small Business Administration (SBA) Area Office’s size determination and held that procedural deficiencies in a contractor’s Joint Venture Agreement...more
6/27/2024
/ Addendums ,
Appeals ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Procurement Systems ,
Joint Venture ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
NAICS ,
Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) ,
Operating Agreements ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Required Documentation ,
SBA ,
Small Business
On June 6, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule that, effective August 5, 2024, implements a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024 (2024 NDAA), which eliminates the...more
On October 5, the Information Security Oversight Office (ISOO) issued a joint notice (Joint Notice) with the Small Business Association (SBA) and in coordination with the Department of Defense (DOD) clarifying that the...more
On September 29, the Small Business Administration (SBA) reopened its Certify portal to new applicants seeking admittance into the SBA 8(a) program....more
The July 19 Ultima ruling threw the 8(a) program into tumult after the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee found the program’s rebuttable presumption mechanism, used to find social disadvantage, in...more
On July 19, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee ruled in favor of Ultima Services Corporation, prompting the pause of new 8(a) applications and necessitating a reorganization of the program’s...more
8/24/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Eligibility ,
Equal Protection ,
Federal Contractors ,
Interim Guidance ,
Mentor-Protege Program ,
Race Discrimination ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Women-Owned Businesses ,
WOSB
Effective May 30, 2023, a Small Business Administration (SBA) final rule made some notable changes to SBA’s 8(a) Business Development (BD) program, a valuable resource for those firms owned by socially and economically...more
On April 27, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule which, effective May 30, will make a number of changes to the SBA regulations impacting small businesses. The regulations, finalizing the proposed rule...more
5/26/2023
/ 8(a) Program ,
Certifications ,
Final Rules ,
Joint Venture ,
Mergers ,
Notice of Non-Compliance ,
Penalties ,
Proposed Rules ,
SBA ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors ,
Subcontracts
On December 19, 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a proposed rule that would amend the SBA regulations to implement Section 870 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2020. Section 870...more
Generally, when a business is awarded a multi-year IDIQ contract, it retains its “small” business designation unless a contracting officer (CO) requires the business to recertify its size status, and has since grown larger...more
The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program has an interesting construction. With seemingly no competition to bring size protests and the successful completion of a previous grant before a second grant, the unusual...more
1/13/2023
/ Appeals ,
Clawbacks ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Contractors ,
Funding ,
Joint Venture ,
Reauthorization ,
SBA ,
SBIRs ,
Small Business ,
Subcontractors
The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Mentor-Protégé program (MPP) was designed to strengthen the capabilities of small businesses, increase their participation in the DoD contract pool, and contribute to “the diversity and...more
On July 6, the SBA issued a proposed rule that would implement Section 862 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 establishing a government-wide certification process for Veteran Owned Small Businesses...more
7/27/2022
/ Comment Period ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Eligibility ,
NDAA ,
Ownership Rules ,
Proposed Rules ,
SBA ,
SDVOSB ,
Small Business ,
Veterans ,
VOSB
As a general matter, an agency should reject a bid out of hand if it is deemed defective due to problems with bidder responsiveness. However, flawed bids determined on account of issues with bidder responsibility can be...more
On June 6, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule modifying its methodology for calculating the size of small businesses using an employee-based size standard and authorizes businesses participating...more
6/27/2022
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Defense (DOD) ,
Eligibility ,
Federal Contractors ,
Federal Loans ,
Final Rules ,
Misrepresentation ,
New Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
SBA ,
Small Business
Numet Machining Techniques, a Connecticut-based machined parts manufacturer for commercial and military aerospace engines, recently agreed to pay $5.2 million to settle alleged violations of the False Claims Act (FCA) for...more
In October, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) published a final rule entitled “Consolidation of Mentor-Protégé Programs and Other Government Contracting Amendments,” which went into effect on November 16, 2020....more
The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued two interim final rules on May 22 providing, respectively, additional clarifications regarding Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness (the Forgiveness Rule) and...more
This alert, originally published May 19, 2020, was updated to reflect further guidance issued by the SBA on May 22, 2020 regarding PPP loan forgiveness.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has released the first major...more
Just one day before the May 14 safe harbor date for borrowers to repay loans under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued additional guidance regarding the good faith “need”...more
This alert has been updated to reflect further guidance issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) on May 5, 2020 indicating that forthcoming rule changes will extend the repayment date for the safe harbor discussed...more
5/6/2020
/ Borrowers ,
CARES Act ,
Certificate of Need ,
Certifications ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Taxes ,
Final Rules ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
New Guidance ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Safe Harbors ,
SBA ,
Small Business
In an effort to dramatically expand the amount of aid made available to small businesses under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the U.S. Senate yesterday approved over $320 billion in additional...more
With the much-anticipated release of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Interim Final Rule on affiliation under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) late on April 3, those waiting with bated breath for any clarification...more