SBA has announced changes in the economic injury disaster loan (EIDL) program. SBA is tripling the total loan amount that is available to borrowers; and it is extending the deferral period, moving the date by which borrowers must begin to repay loans, until 2022. These changes will become effective April 6. The changes will impact...
US Court of Federal Claims issues an Amended General Order – Filing, Service and Management (including redaction) of Highly Sensitive Documents
On March 9, 2021, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Hon. Elaine D. Kaplan, Chief Judge, issued an Amended General Order outlining the Procedures for Filing, Service, and Management of Highly Sensitive Documents (HSDs). The Amended Order, which is effective immediately, applies to any document that contains information that involves matters of national security, foreign...
Recent USDOT Decision Clarifies Requirements when Looking to Expand DBE NAICS Codes
By: Andrew Campbell and Taimur Rabbani, Esq. Getting certification as Maryland Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) or Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) can often be challenging, in part because the disadvantaged owners of company must be able to show that they have the ability to make day-to-day, as well as long-term decisions, on matters of management, policy,...
OHA Decides 3-Year Gross Receipts Standard Still Applies
By: Anthony J. Marchese, Esq. and Andrew Campbell In addition to the GAO decision mentioned in our previous blog, another case was brought against SBA’s decision to not adhere to the Runway Extension Act immediately after it became law. This time, SBA’s Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA) heard the case and ruled that the...
GAO Decides on Runway Extension Act
By: Anthony J. Marchese, Esq. and Andrew Campbell As we noted in our previous blog, the SBA responded to the 2018 Runway Extension Act by asserting that until it promulgates a rule to reflect the new five-year gross receipts size standard, the three-year standard remains the law of the land. Of course, SBA has yet...
2018 Small Business Runway Extension Act
By Taimur Rabbani, Esq and Andrew Campbell On December 17, 2018, the Small Business Runway Extension Act of 2018 (Runway Extension Act) was signed into law. The law was designed to change how certain companies evaluated their historical revenues when determining whether or not they qualified as a small business. The SBA to date has...
Proposed Changes to SBA’s HUBZone Program
By Taimur Rabbani and Andrew Campbell SBA HUBZone Program Since 1997, the Small Business Administration’s Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program has spurred economic development in non-metropolitan, underdeveloped and impoverished areas by providing federal contracting assistance to small businesses located in these areas. The HUBZone program, unlike other federal contracting assistance programs like SBA’s 8(a)...
Cascading Errors Render A Source Selection Decision Vulnerable Report No. B-414650.1; B-414650.14 (May 21, 2018)
By Carol O’Riordan and Alexis Ferruccio A recent GAO decision demonstrates that when contemporaneous documentation shows evaluators made errors, the Source Selection Authority (SSA) award decision is at risk. Ace Info challenged the evaluation of Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Request for Quotations (RFQ) for information technology operations support services (ITOSS) under EAGLE II. Ace...
Standing and Mootness at the COFC
By Grace Mahan In order to bring claims in front of both the Government Accountability Office and the Court of Federal Claims, protesters must be interested parties with Article III standing. As a result, both of these tribunals may dismiss a protest on the grounds that it is moot. In a recent case, Coast Professional,...
Comparing the GAO and the COFC
By Grace Mahan There are a number of ways to pursue a protest of a federal contract award. Generally, such protests are pursued in one of three forums: with the procuring agency, the Government Accountability Office, or the Court of Federal Claims. In broad terms, these three bodies differ in the formality of their procedures,...