Government Contracts Insights

October 11, 2023 - Small Business
Definitive Guidance on Facility Security Clearances for Small Business Joint Ventures
By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Charles L. Capito
The Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Information Security Oversight Office (ISSO) have issued a Joint Notice to clarify how Facility Security Clearances (FCLs) (also called Entity Eligibility Determinations, or EEDs) work for joint ventures. As we have discussed before, the SBA regulations for a
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September 06, 2023 - Small Business
Subcontracting to a Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture: Changes to How Small Business Subcontracting Goals Are Calculated
By: Damien C. Specht, James A. Tucker and Alissandra Young McCann
Recent changes to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) regulations affect how large businesses can take small business credit for subcontracting to their own mentor-protégé joint ventures (MPJVs). SBA’s final rule directs that, when a large federal prime contractor issues subcontracts to its own MPJV,
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August 01, 2023 - Small Business
SBA Finalizes Rule to Modernize the SBIC Program
By: Damien C. Specht, Alissandra Young McCann and Markus Gerhard Speidel
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) finalized a rule to modernize the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program on July 17, 2023. Part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the new SBIC Investment Diversification and Growth (IDG) rule seeks to “unlock unrealized potential and
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March 31, 2023 - Small Business, Federal Procurement
Back to the Drawing Board: Far Councils Withdraw Long-delayed Proposed Rule for Lower-tier Small Business Subcontracting Credit
By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann
Some of you may recall the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014 from nearly a decade ago. It amended the Small Business Act (SBA) to allow a contractor, under certain circumstances, to receive credit towards its subcontracting plan goals for awards
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February 14, 2023 - Small Business
Joint Venture Member Experience: “Considering Each Member” vs. “Considering Either Member”
By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker
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
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February 08, 2023 - Small Business
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
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September 30, 2022 - Small Business
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
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September 19, 2022 - Small Business
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
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July 26, 2022 - Small Business
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
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June 08, 2022 - Labor & Employment, Small Business
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
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Topic Archives: Small Business

Definitive Guidance on Facility Security Clearances for Small Business Joint Ventures

By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Charles L. Capito

Subcontracting to a Mentor-Protégé Joint Venture: Changes to How Small Business Subcontracting Goals Are Calculated

By: Damien C. Specht, James A. Tucker and Alissandra Young McCann

SBA Finalizes Rule to Modernize the SBIC Program

By: Damien C. Specht, Alissandra Young McCann and Markus Gerhard Speidel

Back to the Drawing Board: Far Councils Withdraw Long-delayed Proposed Rule for Lower-tier Small Business Subcontracting Credit

By: James A. Tucker, Damien C. Specht and Alissandra Young McCann

Joint Venture Member Experience: “Considering Each Member” vs. “Considering Either Member”

By: Damien C. Specht and James A. Tucker

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

Congress Passes Bill to Reauthorize SBIR/STTR Programs

By: Damien C. Specht, Tina D. Reynolds, James A. Tucker and Locke Bell

DOD Issues Guidance in Advance of Possible Failure to Reauthorize the SBIR/STTR Program

By: Damien C. Specht, James A. Tucker and Locke Bell

New Small Business Regulation: Reliance on Past Performance Gained as a Subcontractor or Joint Venture Member

By: James A. Tucker and Damien C. Specht

SBA Finalizes Changes in How to Calculate Size for Various Programs

By: Damien C. Specht, James A. Tucker and Alissandra Young McCann