WOSBs to lose self-certification?

A last-minute change to the national defense bill for fiscal 2015 appears to have taken away the self-certification option for Women-Owned Small Businesses.

The National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal 2015 deleted the language that previously had authorized self-certification. Women owners previously were allowed to self-certify, as long as they filed supporting documents later.

The deletion apparently occurred at the last minute with little or no public debate.

“Interestingly, this amendment was not included in the original House bill passed in May, nor was it included in the Senate’s original version of the NDAA,” Steven Koprince, government contracts attorney, wrote in his blog. “It appears to have been added late in the process, perhaps in response to a recent GAO report suggesting that contracting officers dislike the ‘trust but verify’ option.”

Koprince said self-certification appears to be clearly disallowed, but it’s still possible the SBA may interpret it differently. SBA officials were not immediately available for comment.

More information: Koprince blog: http://goo.gl/xVrmY4

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