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Federal Market Intelligence for Small Business |
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Set-Aside Alert news analysis:Miss these? Top 16 small business federal contracting stories of 2016It was a tweet-filled, fake-newsy, Wikileaking kind of year that turned a lot of precedents upside down--and the feelings of disruption and uncertainty are likely to continue through 2017. The final year of Democrat Barack Obama’s presidency was a busy one for small business federal contractors, and the November elections brought in a new administration and new Congress--all Republicans--promising major changes in budgets, taxes, regulations and foreign policy. Here is a rundown of Set-Aside Alert’s picks for top 16 small business federal contracting stories of 2016. #1 The elections The 2016 presidential and congressional elections brought in GOP President-elect Donald Trump, who ran on a populist agenda promising jobs and major changes in government, and a GOP-majority House and Senate. Trump’s Cabinet picks to date have reflected a pro-business and strongly anti-regulation point of view, which has encouraged some small business contractors. But there also are concerns about Trump’s potential conflicts of interest while serving as president and also owning a global hotel and real estate company. At the same time, federal workers and vendors must hew to strict ethics rules to protect against conflicts of interest. Predictions for the Trump administration’s agenda have been uncertain and many see greater volatility in the federal market. While Trump has talked about increasing the defense budget, he also has tweeted unexpectedly that contracts awarded to Boeing and Lockheed Martin for specific major weapons systems should be cancelled, causing stock price fluctuations. Trump nominated Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment and a major Trump donor, to head the Small Business Administration. #2 Kingdomware decision The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Veterans Affairs Department’s interpretation of a 2006 law. The law created strong preferences for veteran-owned small business contractors at the VA. The court unanimously decided that under the 2006 law the VA must award contracts to small firms owned by veterans and service-disabled veterans if several conditions are met: first, if there are two or more veteran-owned small vendors that can meet the requirements and are likely to submit bids; and if the firms can meet the requirements at a fair and reasonable price that offers best value to the government. The VA had argued that task orders under the Federal Supply Schedules (also known as GSA Schedules) were exempt, but the court disagreed. #3 NDAA provisions The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2017 contained multiple provisions related to small business contracting that are still being sorted out. One stand-out is that the NDAA sets a single definition for veteran-owned small business across government, and changes some authorities for the VA and SBA in overseeing veteran contracting. #4 WOSB goal met The SBA announced that the 5% goal for federal procurements with Women-Owned Small Businesses was met for the first time in fiscal 2015. #5 SBA goaling accuracy The SBA’s Office of Inspector General watchdog agency declared that the SBA made “substantial progress” in accurate reporting of small business goals. While the SBA relies on other agencies for the data in the goal achievement report, the SBA puts together the report (See the Nov. 4, 2016 issue). #6 23% goal, most other goals met For the third year in a row, the Obama Administration reported that the 23% goal for small business procurement had been met. The SBA also said the goals for contracts with disadvantaged small firms and service-disabled veterans were met, but not for HUBZones. #7 New mentor-protege program The SBA established the new “All Small Mentor-Protege Program” making available mentoring arrangements to small businesses governmentwide. Previously, the SBA offered mentor-protege benefits only to 8(a) participants. DOD and other agencies also sponsored mentor-protege programs. #8 Regulatory changes The final year of the Obama administration brought in a wave of final rules. Set-Aside Alert will publish a full list of all significant small business contracting rule changes from last year in the upcoming Jan. 20, 2017 issue. Two of the major changes, the rule expanding overtime, and the rule requiring disclosure of past labor violations, currently are on hold due to Texas court actions. #9 Court ruling on 8(a) The SBA’s 8(a) Small Business Development Program survived a longstanding court challenge to its constitutionality. The court ruled that the law that created the 8(a) program is not unconstitutional. The plaintiff, Rothe Development Inc., alleged that 8(a) eligibility includes racial classifications, but the court disagreed. #10 SBA adds 2,000 HUBZones The SBA added more than 2,000 HUBZones, including more than 500 in Puerto Rico, by removing what it said was an unnecessary interagency practice. Under that practice, the number of HUBZones in communities was capped based on a percentage of population. The practice was initiated by the Housing and Urban Development Department, and the SBA deemed it unnecessary (see story in Sept. 23, 2016 edition). #11 SBA classified 14,050 more businesses as small The SBA issued four regulations to update its small business standards. The new standards make 10,050 companies eligible for small business contracts and loans, and 4,000 more eligible for loans only. #12 Category management The Obama administration continued its push for category management in procurement, including these steps:
#13 Overseas contracting Under pressure from Congress, the SBA said it would include overseas contracts in its calculations for small business goal achievement for the first time in over a decade. The adjustment takes effect for the fiscal 2016 small business goaling report, which will be released in 2017. #14 WOSB industry shakeup The SBA changed many of the industries in which WOSBs and economically-disadvantaged WOSBs are eligible for federal contracts under the SBA’s WOSB program (http://goo.gl/Fj1FPh). #15 Fewer small businesses Rep. Steve Chabot, R-OH, who chairs the House Small Business Committee, reported that the number of small businesses registered in federal contracting databases had fallen from 2012 to 2015, from 382,000 to 273,000. #16 OASIS SB on-ramp The General Services Administration is planning to add 31 small businesses to Pool 2 of its “OASIS Small Business” professional services governmentwide contracting vehicle. The solicitation was issued in November and bids are due by Jan. 17, 2017.
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