VA Rewrites Acquisition Rules The Veterans Affairs Department is proposing changes in its small business programs as part of a complete revision of its acquisition regulation. Under the proposed rule, VA contracting officers may order payments to be made to small firms in less than the standard 30 days. The rule would eliminate the requirement for audits on price proposals under the 8(a) program that exceed $500,000. VA said it would follow the Federal Acquisition Regulation provision, which requires the contracting officer to request an audit only when the information available is inadequate to determine a fair and reasonable price. The rule would eliminate set-asides for certain construction and architect-engineering contracts. Set-asides in those categories are prohibited under the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program. The House voted to repeal that program last year, but the Senate did not. The proposed rule would change some procedures for acquiring commercial items. VA said many of the changes are designed to make its acquisition regulation consistent with the FAR, to eliminate redundancies and to put the regulation into plain English. The proposed rule is RIN 2900-AK78. Comments are due March 14.