SBA proposes rule changing small biz size standards

      The Small Business Administration proposed a new regulation to incorporate the 2017 changes in industry codes into its size standards for small businesses.

      The new standards would replace the standards that have been in place since 2012. The standards are updated every five years.

      The changes include revising 29 NAICS codes to create 21 new industries, less restrictive standards for six industries, and more restrictive standards for two industries, and changing the standard for record production to employee-based.

      Comments are due by June 19.

More information: Federal Register: http://goo.gl/KozWu7

Arraignments in $11M SDVOSB fraud case in CA

      Two federal contractors were arraigned in federal court in San Diego, CA on charges of defrauding the government of more than $11 million in contracts set aside for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs), the Justice Dept. said in a news release.

      Andrew Otero, Roger Ramsey, and their companies A&D General Contracting Inc. and Action Telecom Inc. were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and false statements.

      Prosecutors say the defendants set up a secret agreement to falsely represent their joint venture as an SDVOSB headed by Ramsey, who is a service-disabled veteran. The agreement said Otero’s company would be in charge and would keep 98% of the payments. Ramsey also worked full-time at another job.

      Based on the false claims, they were able to win SDVOSB set-aside contracts from the Veterans Affairs Dept. and the US Army Corps of Engineers.

More information: DOJ release: http://goo.gl/wxrGUF

US spending data set

      In what supporters are calling a historic development for transparency, the Treasury Department this week published a comprehensive data set of US federal agency spending based on common data formats.

      The data set was created under the 2014 DATA Act. It is being called the first unified data set of federal spending data.

      Federal agencies generally report account balances to Treasury, budget actions to the White House, contracts to GSA, and grants to the Awards Data System.

      Now the agencies are reporting all of this information to a new database at Treasury.

More information: DATA data set link: http://goo.gl/0A5R4N

WOSBs on MACs

      Sens. Joni Ernst, R-IA, and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, introduced legislation to direct the SBA to study women-owned small businesses (WOSBs).

      Specifically, the bill would require research on WOSB participation in federal Multiple-Award Contracts.

      The goal is to examine whether the WOSBs are underrepresented in MACs, in comparison to other socio-economic categories of small businesses.

      “This bipartisan call for a study is an important first step to identify any discrepancies so we can develop solutions to ensure all small businesses have equal access to these contracting opportunities,” Ernst said in a news release.

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