Testimony: Small biz needs help with CMMC

      Small federal contractors need assistance in complying with DOD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) framework, according to several speakers at a recent hearing of a House Small Business Committee subcommittee.

      “I have seen Primes flow-down pages of requirements to a small business along with pointing them to their website for more. We need to make this process easier for them,” said Scott Singer, president of CyberNINES, an SDVOSB that is one of the Registered Provider Organizations for the CMMC.

      Jonathan T. Williams, partner with PilieroMazza PLLC, outlined the basics of CMMC and how small businesses are being affected n his testimony.

      “Small businesses are concerned about how much CMMC will cost (both to obtain the certification and to implement the internal steps necessary to maintain the certification), what CMMC level DOD agencies and prime contractors will require of small businesses, and how much time it will take to obtain the certification,” Williams said.

Read more:
Hearing testimonies: https://bit.ly/3AyHftV

National SBIR Week

      Small business owners will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one online with federal agency SBIR project managers during the SBA’s upcoming 2021 National SBIR Week.

Read more:
Details: https://www.sbirroadtour.com

Biden signs diversity, equity Executive Order

      President Joe Biden on June 25 signed an Executive Order to advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) in the federal workforce.

      The initiative orders federal agencies to take steps to achieve DEIA goals, including:

• Reviewing barriers to employment for underserved communities within their agency within 100 days;
• Naming Chief Diversity Officers;
• Expanding DEIA training for employees to increase understanding of implicit and unconscious bias; and
• Improving demographic data collection on the federal workforce.

Read more at:
White House Fact Sheet: https://bit.ly/3wkfTVb

Inside this edition:

Agencies plan Return-to-Work policies for workers, vendors

TDR lacks value: audit

Who are the 1,190 proteges on SBA’s Mentor-Protege teams?

Senate OKs GSA chief

Report urges 18 actions to help small biz federal contractors

Six protests for CIO-SP4

DOD enhanced debriefings

New IRS contract app

Column: Has Your Claim Been Flagged for Fraud?

Washington Insider:

Coronavirus Update