By Carol L. O’Riordan Last March, we took note of an effort by the Veterans Administration to simplify its process for qualifying businesses as veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs). We noted that without the need for congressional action, the VA was permitting applicants to correct minor issues in their applications without courting an automatic denial of...
Month: June 2013
D.C.-Area Company Is Stripped of “HUBZone” Designation by SBA
While we support the various programs for granting preferences in federal contracting to companies in traditionally disadvantaged groups such as women, minorities, and disabled veterans, it is also critical that potential contractors not abuse the preferences that Congress has granted. Although this type of abuse is not nearly as common as some in the media...
New FCPA Case Yet Another Indication of Reach of U.S. Laws
On May 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice announced the settlement of a major criminal and civil case involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. In this case, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the DOJ, along with French authorities, announced charges against Total S.A., a French-based oil and gas company. Total agreed to pay...
Bill Would Open New Opportunities for Small Business Contracting
Right now, if a federal agency brings in a subcontractor to a project that itself subcontracts to another company, all the dollars that flow to that second-tier subcontractor, if it’s a small business, are able to “count” against the agency’s goal of contracting with small businesses. And that’s how it should be. However, the prime...
Why Has Participation in 8(a) Program Declined Recently?
According to a recent article in FedScoop, there has been a recent decline in the number of companies that are participating in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) and HUBZone set-aside programs, and the SBA is planning some targeted recruitment efforts to increase the number of companies in the programs. That’s not necessarily all bad news,...