SBA doubles down on ‘Runway’ Act position

      Despite recent debates over when the “Runway Extension Act” is supposed to go into effect after becoming law in December, the SBA appears to be doubling down on its position: it’s not in effect until rulemaking is done.

      Some industry representatives assert that the law went into effect immediately.

      SBA has released a new document on its size standard methodology that reiterates its position that small firm owners must wait until rulemaking is completed before applying the new law. It will allow them to count average revenues from five years of receipts, instead of three years as in the past.

Read more at:
SBA Notice of Availability of White Paper: https://bit.ly/2GEvWXs

Legislation for contract payments in 15 days

      A bipartisan bill has been introduced that would accelerate payments to small federal contractors to within 15 days, instead of the current standard of 30 days.

      The proposed “Accelerated Payments for Small Businesses Act” would apply to small businesses working for the government as prime contractors or subcontractors.

      It was submitted by Reps. Troy Balderson, R-OH; Steve Chabot, R-OH; Jason Crow, D-CO; and Adriano Espaillat, D-NY.

      The Professional Services Council has endorsed the proposed bill.

     “Accelerated payments can be a critical lifeline for small businesses who work in the federal marketplace -- helping to provide access to capital and enhancing growth opportunities,” PSC Executive Vice President and Counsel Alan Chvotkin said in a release announcing the legislation.

‘FACE Act’ in works

      Sens. Marco Rubio, R-FL, Ron Johnson, R-WI, and Gary Peters, D-MI, announced they had introduced the Federal Advance Contracts Enhancement Act (FACE Act) to better manage emergency contracting by the government.

      The bill targets FEMA advance contracts for disaster-preparedness goods and services. It requires such contracts to be coordinated with states and localities to prevent gaps in services.

More DOE proteges

      The Energy Dept. recently issued a class deviation allowing any small business to be eligible to be a protege in the DOE mentor-protege program. Previously, proteges had to be 8(a) firms, other small disadvantaged, Historically-Black Colleges or other minority institutions or higher learning, women-owned, veteran-owned or HUBZone firms. The new standard went into effect on Feb. 21.

Read more at:
DoE PF 2019-15 release: https://bit.ly/2GvHpqZ
DEAR Class Deviation: https://bit.ly/2KUOVAV

Inside this Edition:

8(a) participation falls under Trump; 8(a)s won $27B in FY17

SBA FY2020 budget update

NDIA is against replacing DOD set-asides with a 5% price preference

Small Biz Dashboard is gone

GAO on OTA

Column: The Impact of New DOL Proposed Rules on Government Contractors

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