GSA plans Bulk Buys

The General Services Administration is targeting cleaning products, tools and wireless devices for its next round of governmentwide bulk buying contracts, according to Dan Tangherlini, acting GSA administrator.

Those are among the 10 additional categories of products and services for which GSA intends to develop strategic sourcing initiatives by 2015, Tangherlini wrote in the GSA blog. The bulk buy contracts already cover office supplies and other items.

The agency currently has teams planning for janitorial and sanitation supplies, and for maintenance, repair and operations supplies.

Agencies currently pay $500 million a year on cleaning products through nearly 4,000 contracts with 1,200 different vendors. Prices vary, with identical paper towels going for $32 to $61 a case.

Bulk buying contracts will “greatly reduce this variance, increase efficiency, cut costs, and increase the participation of small businesses and AbilityOne organizations, ” Tangherlini wrote.

More information: http://goo.gl/RXBbF

FAR changes pending

The Federal Acquisitions Regulations Council has released its latest semi-annual report on regulatory changes it is working on for 2013.

As many as nine new procurement rules could be made final this year, Federal News Radio reported.

The list includes a proposed rule issued Dec. 19 on accelerated payments to small business contractors, and a final rule on contractors’ organizational conflicts of interest.

There are also pending rules on training for vendors to meet requirements for handling personally-identifiable information.

More information: FAR Councils semi-annual regulatory agenda http://goo.gl/mHiKu
Federal News Radio story: http://goo.gl/ajE9y

VA verification gaps

The Veterans Affairs Department has made improvements to its verification processes for small businesses--but it still is falling short, according to a new audit from the Government Accountability Office.

The verifications apply to veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.

The VA still does not have a comprehensive long-term strategic plan for the verification program. The initial planning effort lacked performance measures and had a short-term focus, the GAO said.

Furthermore, the current verification data system in operation does not collect important data and has limited reporting and workflow management capabilities, the GAO found.

VA agreed with the findings and with the GAO’s advice to write a better strategic plan.

More information: GAO report http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-95

Steeper penalties

Small business owners are likely to pay higher penalties for violating limitations on subcontracting, under Section 1652 of the National Defense Authorization Act of fiscal 2013, according to a brief from Jenner & Block law firm.

Currently, small business owners who violate the subcontracting limitations could be fined up to $500,000 and be subject to suspension, debarment and ineligibility for set-asides.

Under the new law, a new monetary penalty is to be added to the list, equaling the amount expended on subcontractors, in excess of permitted levels, the Jenner & Block brief indicated.

“The possiblity of steep penalties will cause small business subcontractors to monitor subcontracting levels closely and may limit the opportunity for significant large business subcontracting work under set-aside contracts,” the brief stated.

More information: http://goo.gl/lXOVH

More eligible for SBIR

The Small Business Administration issued a final rule on size and eligibility for the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs.

The most significant change is that agencies may now make SBIR awards to small businesses more than 50% owned by multiple venture-capital firms, hedge funds, private equity firms, or a combination, according to a briefing by Wiley Rein LLP.

Previously, the small firms needed to be majority-owned and controlled by “individuals” or by another business owned by individuals. That structure was criticized as being out-of-date and inconsistent with modern corporate structures, Wiley Rein indicated.

More information: Wiley Rein briefing http://goo.gl/W1sh1