Contracts with 8(a) small businesses are being protected from the negative impacts of Sect. 331 in the recent national defense law, according to two high-level Defense Department procurement specialists.

The Section 331 provision in the National Defense Authorization Act allows military bases to enter into cooperative agreements with local communities to provide services to the base.

Recently, the Air Force utilized the provision to turn over a services contract at Tinker Air Force base in Oklahoma to a local agency, the specialists told Set-Aside Alert. The contract previously was held by a small vendor.

After small business owners drew attention to the situation (See Set-Aside Alert issue of May 17, 2013), the Small Business Administration issued a memorandum stating that the SBA would not permit the government to remove an existing 8(a) contract from the 8(a) program, the specialists told Set-Aside Alert.

SBA and Air Force officials were not immediately available.