Joint Venture Member Experience: “Considering Each Member” vs. “Considering Either Member”
- The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued an important new decision in the protest of AttainX,Inc ., B-421216, B-421216.2, Jan. 23, 2023, 2023 WL 1860802. The decision addresses how agencies must evaluate the prior experience and past performance of joint venture members when a... ›
Is Your Joint Venture Agreement Compliant with Current Sba Regulations and Current Case Law?
By: Damien C. Specht, James A. Tucker and Alissandra Young McCann
The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) popular shields from affiliation for all-small and mentor-protégé joint ventures are powerful tools for helping small businesses succeed in the federal procurement marketplace. These tools, however, are subject to strict enforcement, iterative rule changes, and growing bodies of case law. To... ›Congress Passes Bill to Reauthorize SBIR/STTR Programs
By: Damien C. Specht, Tina D. Reynolds, James A. Tucker and Locke Bell
As most experts expected, Congress has passed the bill to reauthorize the SBIR and STTR programs until September 30, 2025. The bill is now headed for the White House, where the President is expected to sign it into law. The reauthorized SBIR and STTR programs... ›DOD Issues Guidance in Advance of Possible Failure to Reauthorize the SBIR/STTR Program
By: Damien C. Specht, James A. Tucker and Locke Bell
As of this posting, Congress has not yet reauthorized the popular Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Given the broad bipartisan support for these programs, most observers expect Congress to reauthorize the programs before they sunset on September... ›New Small Business Regulation: Reliance on Past Performance Gained as a Subcontractor or Joint Venture Member
By: James A. Tucker and Damien C. Specht
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) recently promulgated a final rule addressing past performance ratings for small business joint venture members and small business first-tier subcontractors. The rule, which will go into effect on August 22, 2022, is a welcome implementation of requirements of... ›SBA Finalizes Changes in How to Calculate Size for Various Programs
By: Damien C. Specht, James A. Tucker and Alissandra Young McCann
Earlier this week, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a Final Rule adopting changes to how a concern calculates its number of employees for eligibility purposes in all of SBA’s programs, as well as how a concern calculates average annual receipts for SBA’s... ›SBA Issues Final Rule on Appeals Process for PPP Loan Review Decisions
By: Damien C. Specht, Alissandra Young McCann and Markus Gerhard Speidel
The Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a final rule on Borrower Appeals of Final SBA Loan Review Decisions Under the Paycheck Protection Program on Thursday, September 16, 2021, that updates its interim final rule from August 27, 2020, and clarifies open issues. As we discussed... ›GAO Rules on Solicitation Requirements for Small Business Joint Venture Facility Security Clearances
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
In an important new decision, InfoPoint LLC , B-419856, Aug. 27, 2021 , the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has sustained a protest against a Department of Defense (DOD) agency that insisted that small business joint venture offerors themselves were required satisfy a solicitation’s Facility... ›FAR Councils Promulgate Final Rule Implementing SBA’s 2016 Revisions to the Limitations on Subcontracting Rule
By: James A. Tucker
After a five-year wait, small business subcontracting rules that the Small Business Administration (SBA) promulgated in 2016 will finally appear in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and new solicitations. Chief among the changes is the welcome implementation in the FAR of an updated rule allowing... ›Levels of Accountability: What Federal Contractors Should Know About Small Business Subcontracting Plans and Compliance Reviews
By: Damien C. Specht, Alissandra Young McCann and Roke Iko
Every year, the U.S. federal government establishes goals for the awards of prime contracts and subcontracts to small business concerns. While agencies are responsible for achieving these goals by awarding prime contracts to small businesses, contractors that are “other than small” are obliged to... ›