In this blog, we previously recounted some highlights from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Verification Training on June 7, 2012, at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery, This was an informative event hosted by WAVE — Women As Veteran Entrepreneurs. The training was aimed at helping veteran business owners who are either engaged...
Category: Government Contracts
D.C.’s ‘First Source’ Contracting Program Faces Federal Lawsuit
In 1984, the D.C. Council passed the First Source Employment Agreement Act, which required contractors who work on city-funded projects to hire at least 51 percent of their employees from among D.C. residents and to list their job openings with the D.C. Department of Employment Services. The law was passed in response to D.C.’s growing...
Reverse Auctions Taking Their Place in Government Contracting Arena
A reverse auction is a type of auction in which the sellers do the bidding, not the buyers. In a reverse auction, the sellers compete to obtain business from the buyer, and prices will typically decrease as the auction continues, as the sellers undercut each other. Since the award is made solely on the basis...
VA Training Event Helps Entrepreneurs Clear Hurdles Toward Certification
ORB was delighted to attend the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Verification Training at the Women’s Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery on June 7, 2012. The event was hosted by our good friends WAVE — Women As Veteran Entrepreneurs — and was well attended by veteran business owners and knowledgeable personnel from the VA. The...
Women Entrepreneurs: Solid Preparation Required If You Want to Qualify Under 8(a) Program
The purpose of the 8(a) program run by the federal Small Business Administration (SBA) is to help small companies owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged persons to develop their businesses. Companies that qualify under 8(a) have the advantage of certain preferences in government contracting. Under federal regulations for the program, businesses owned by...
Bidders Beware: Follow the Government’s Rules or Risk Losing the Contract
Read any bid protest decision issued by the U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) and you will see that the losers are frequently reminded of their responsibility to submit adequately written and affirmatively stated proposals that clearly and unambiguously demonstrate their strengths in the areas specified by the contracting agency. Even incumbent contractors who have developed...
When There’s a Mistake in a Contract Bid: What You Should Do
There’s been a lot of discussion recently about mistakes in bids for federal contracts. Mistakes can happen, particularly when bidders are rushed (and who isn’t rushed when preparing and submitting a bid?). Mistakes can be minor and waivable at the government’s discretion; they can be subject to correction in certain situations; or they can result...
GAO Rejects Appeal, Decides Key Bid Information Wasn’t Really ‘Close at Hand’
By Carol L. O’Riordan Don’t ever assume anything. Particularly, if you are a bidder on a government contract, don’t assume that the agency knows everything you know. That was the lesson that Wegco., Inc., a D.C.-based company, learned the hard way on May 21, 2012, when its appeal of its failure to obtain a General...
Anti-Corruption Effort in Afghanistan Snares 81 Contractors, Leads to Debarment
By Pamela J. Bethel Government contractors working in Afghanistan should be on notice that they are being scrutinized for possible fraud and corruption and could be excluded from bidding for contracts. Eighty-one companies – some American and some international or Afghan – have recently been debarred from government contracts related to the war on Afghanistan,...
GSA Unveiling Streamlined Procurement System: Will It Work?
By Carol L. O’Riordan The federal government is beginning the launch of its new System for Award Management, known briefly as SAM. This is an attempt by the government to combine nine currently separate federal procurement systems and databases into one, in order to make life easier for government contractors and for the agencies that...