ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD html 4.01//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/strict.dtd"> <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Set-Aside Alert - 11-17-17 - What s in and what s out in NDAA </TITLE> <meta name="description" content="The premier federal government contract news and information service written especially for small, minority and women-owned businesses"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="govcon, contracting, contractor, small business, set-aside, set aside, setaside, government contract, OSDBU, small disadvantaged, federal contract, HUBZone, HUB Zone, minority-owned, woman-owned, 8a, 8(a), minority owned, MBE, WBE, WOB, SDB, DBE"> </HEAD> <BODY LINK="#000000" VLINK="#000000"> <!--<center> --> <table> <tr><td width="8%" bgcolor="#DCDCDC"> </td> <td width="84%"> <table> <tr><td> <IMG SRC="set-aside.gif" alt="Set-Aside Alert logo" WIDTH="341" HEIGHT="70" BORDER="0" ALT="Set Aside Alert logo"> </td> <td valign="top"> <FONT FACE="garamond" SIZE="3" COLOR="#D00000"> <i><b>&nbsp;&nbsp;<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br> Federal Market Intelligence<br> for Small Business</b></i> </font> </td> </tr> </table> <p> <center> <FONT FACE="verdana,tahoma,arial" SIZE="2" color="#D00000"><b> <!--<a href="inside.htm">Wash Insider</a> | --> <a href="saanews.htm">Front Page Headlines </a> | <a href="calendar.htm">Calendar of Events</a> | <a href="awards.htm">Contract Awards</a> | <a href="new8as.htm">Newly-Certified Firms</a> | <a href="dodawds.htm">DoD Small Business Awards</a> | <a href="teamopps.htm">Teaming</a> | <a href="procwatch.htm">Procurement Watch</a> | <a href="http://www.sba8a.com/SAASubscribers/toc.htm">Past Issues</a> | <!--<a href="http://www.setasidealert.com/events2.htm">Meet Us!</a> | --> </b> </font> </center> <table><tr><td> <!-- ENTER DATE HERE --> <left><FONT FACE="verdana,tahoma,arial" SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000"> <i> Nov 17 2017 </i> </font> </left> </td> <td>&nbsp;&nbsp; </td> <td> <FONT FACE="verdana,tahoma,arial" SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000"> <right><i> Next issue: Dec 1 2017 </i></right> </font> </td> </tr></table> <hr> <p> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5"><tr> <!-- Begin main column --> <P> <td width="5%"> </td> <td valign="top" width="60%"> <FONT FACE="verdana,tahoma,arial"> <!-- REPLACE THE STORY HEADLINE AND CONTENT WITH THE APPLICABLE STORY HEAD AND CONTENT. SAVE THE STORY AS STORY1.HTM THRU STORY99.HTM. --> <P> <h2> <i>Set-Aside Alert</i> news analysis: </h2> <h1> What s in and what s out in NDAA </h1> <!--<h4> </h4> --> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There are new rules to expand HUBZones and to increase micro-purchase and simplified acquisition limits. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There also are new restrictions on agencies from getting credit for small business contracts, and the SCORE program for small businesses did not get reauthorized. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Also, a Senate provision to lower the employees-living-in-HUBZone requirement to 33% was dropped. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Those are just a few of the latest developments in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal 2018 (NDAA). </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; A conference of House and Senate members has negotiated a joint and presumably final version of the NDAA. Their Conference Report version of the bill, H Rept. 115-404, has been published online at http://goo.gl/RxeFxA. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The bill now goes to the House and Senate for passage, where it possibly could be amended. The final approved bill must be signed by the president to become law. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The legislation authorizes $626.4 billion for the Defense Department s base budget, which exceeds the $549 billion caps mandated by the Budget Control Act. The bill also has $65.7 billion in emergency war funds not subject to the caps. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; There are several provisions affecting small business federal contractors. </p> <p> <b>SAP and micro-purchases</b> </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Under Section 805, the Simplified Acquisition Procedures threshold would be raised to $250,000, from $100,000. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Section 806, the micro-purchase threshold would be increased to $10,000, from $3,000. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Both the simplified acquisitions and the micro-purchases tend to favor small businesses. </p> <p> <b>HUBZones</b> </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Section 1701 of the bill says that for a firm to be certified as eligible for HUBZone set-asides, 35% of its employees must live in a HUBZone. A Senate provision reducing that percentage to 33% was rejected. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The section also amends several HUBZone provisions in the Small Business Act. <ul> <li> Amends the law so that HUBZone census tracts will be based on a five-year average of available data, rather than the latest available data; <li> Amends the definitions of HUBZones for base closure areas and disaster zones; <li> Allows governors to nominate new HUBZones in areas that are outside of urbanized areas, have fewer than 50,000 people and have an average unemployment rate that is at least 120% of the national average. </ul> </p> <p> <b>SCORE program</b> </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The House NADA would have reauthorized the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) program providing advice to small businesses until 2019. It also ordered SCORE to develop webinars and other online communications. </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; However, in the most recent version of the NDAA, there is no reauthorization for SCORE. It was not immediately clear what would happen to the program. </p> <p> <b>Small business contracts</b> </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Additional provisions affecting small business federal contractors include: <ul> <li> Section 1703 states that agencies would no longer receive credit for small business set-aside contracts in cases in which the small business was acquired--and would no longer be deemed small--after the contract was awarded; <li> Section 1704 sets out certification requirements for the Small Business Administration s Business Opportunity Specialists; <li> Section 1705 outlines certification requirements for the SBA s Commercial Market Representatives; <li> Section 1711 creates a pilot program to strengthen manufacturing for the Defense Dept. by small- and medium-sized companies; <li> Section 1714 orders that in light of the recent increase in multiple-award contracts, the government must conduct a comprehensive study to determine whether small businesses are being utilized sufficiently in those contracts. </ul> </p> <p> <b>Other contracting provisions </b> <ul> <li> Debriefings: Section 818 provides for enhanced rights in debriefings. It says that for contract awards over $10 million and under $100 million, small businesses have the option to request the agency's written source selection award determination (with confidential and proprietary information redacted). In addition, it requires a written or oral debriefing for all contract awards of $10 million or more. <li> LPTA: Section 822 makes it more complicated for agencies to use Low Price Technically Acceptable criteria in procurements. <li> Bid protests: Section 827 sets up a pilot program in which companies that file a bid protest against the DOD, and are denied, would have to reimburse the Government Accountability Office s costs for adjudicating the protest. <li>  Amazon marketplaces: Sect. 846 allows the government to set up at least one commercial e-commerce marketplace for procurements. The new language gives the General Services Administration authority to establish significantly more conditions and a longer timetable for implementation. See story on page one for more on this topic. </ul> </p> <p> <!--<b>More information:</b> VA rule: <a href="https://www.va.gov/OSDBU/verification/VA-SBA-Joint-Rule.asp">https://www.va.gov/OSDBU/verification/VA-SBA-Joint-Rule.asp</a> --> </p> <p>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </font> </td> <!-- Begin secondary column --> <td valign="top" width="35%"> </p> <p> <!-- start contents ------------------------------------- --> <FONT FACE="verdana,tahoma,arial" COLOR="#000000"> <p> <a href="story1.htm"> <h4> What s in and what s out in NDAA </h4> </a> </p> <p> <a href="story2.htm"> <h4> Will NDAA s  Amazon market hurt small biz? </h4> </a> </p> <p> <a href="story3.htm"> <h4>  Best-in-class contracts are a trend </h4> </a> </p> <p> <a href="story4.htm"> <h4> Murphy at GSA appt. on hold </h4> </a> </p> <p> <a href="story5.htm"> <h4> Prison time for Army contractor </h4> </a> </p> <p> <a href="column.htm"> <h4> Column: The Land Mines of Unpopulated Joint Ventures </h4> </a> </p> <p> <h4><a href="inside.htm"> Washington Insider: </h4> </p> <p> <h4> <ul> <li> SBA advocacy office hires controversial economists <li> Shoraka s tips on JVs </ul> </h4> </a> <p> </p> </FONT> <!-- end contents-------------------------------------- --> </p> <p> <p> </td> </tr> </table> <font face="verdana,tahoma,arial" size="2"> <form method="post" action="/cgi-bin/goswish"> <p>Find all past issues containing these words: <br> <input type="text" name="query" size=30> &nbsp;&nbsp; <input type="submit" value="Search"> <input type="reset" value="Reset"></p></form> </p> <br> <hr> <p> Copyright &copy; 2017 Business Research Services Inc. 301-229-5561 All rights reserved. </p> <p> <h6> <i>Set-Aside Alert</i> is published by<br> <b>Business Research Services, Inc.</b><br> 4641 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 208<br> Bethesda MD 20814<br> 1-800-845-8420<br> Fax: 877-516-0818<br> <a href="mailto:brspubs@sba8a.com">brspubs@sba8a.com </a> <br> <a href="http://www.sba8a.com">www.sba8a.com</a> <!-- <ul> <li><a href="http://www.sba8a.com">8(a) Sources</a> <li><a href="http://www.sba8a.com/order.htm">Our Directories</a> <li><a href="http://www.sba8a.com/about.htm">Our Company</a> <li><a href="http://www.setasidealert.com">Events & Seminars</a> </ul> --> </h6> </font> </td> <td width="8%" bgcolor="#DCDCDC"> </td></table> <a title="hits counter" href="http://statcounter.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://c.statcounter.com/10553859/0/0486a933/1/" alt="hits counter" style="border:none;"></a> </BODY> </HTML>