47 Dems, 1 GOP-er favor contractor back pay

      Legislation to reimburse low-wage federal contractors who lost pay during the government shutdown has won the support of 48 senators--47 Democrats and one Republican, Sen. Susan Collins, R-ME.

      The legislation, S 162, sponsored by Sen. Tina Smith, D-MN, would partially reimburse primarily cafeteria, security and janitorial contract workers for lost pay during the 35-day closure. Related bills are pending in the House.

8(a), small firm fraudsters sentenced and fined

      DOJ reported that Michael T. Vigil, of Colorado, and John J. Vigil, of Maryland, and their construction companies, have agreed to pay $3.6 million to the government to resolve charges that they defrauded the SBA’s 8(a) program by making false statements to win set-asides.

      Also, Anthony Roper, of Augusta, GA, and his wife, Audra Roper, have been sentenced to federal prison and fined more than $200K for accepting bribes to steer set-aside contracts.

Read more at:
US Attorney for Colorado release: https://bit.ly/2WYjW92
US Attorney for Southern District of GA release: https://bit.ly/2TL303R.

House small business panel has new members, subcommittee chairs

      House Small Business Chair Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, announced that Rep. Judy Chu, D-CA, will lead the Investigations, Oversight and Regulations subcommittee. Rep. Ross Spano, R-FL, is the new ranking member.

      Four lawmakers serving their first terms in Congress take on the other subcommittee chairmanships:

• Rep. Jared Golden, D-ME, Contracting and Infrastructure;
• Rep. Abby Finkenauer, D-IA, Rural Development, Agriculture, Trade, etc.;
• Rep. Andy Kim, D-NJ, Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access; and
• Rep. Jason Crow, D-CO, Innovation and Workforce Development.

      Rep. Pete Stauber, R-MN, is the new ranking member of the Contracting subcommittee.

Limits on subbing

      The Professional Services Council wants clarity and consistency in limitations on subcontracting for set-aside contracts.

      The 2013 NDAA created new limitations, and SBA issued a final rule in May 2016. In December 2018 the FAR Council issued a proposed rule to implement the SBA final rule. On the same day, SBA issued a proposed rule to further amend the limitations. DOD also issued its own rule on limitations last month. The PSC wants the FAR Council and SBA to “modify and align” the proposals.

Read more at: Professional Services Council release: https://bit.ly/2DhQZh0

Survey: Shutdown hurt small vendors’ trust in government

House passes small biz bills

2018 Regulations Review:
Major regulatory actions affecting small biz contractors

Another shutdown?

Set-Aside Alert Post-Shutdown Survey

Washington Insider: