GSA has published an explanation of how it will handle set-asides on the Multiple Award Schedules. A new interim rule, effective Nov. 2, allows contracting officers to set aside schedule orders for any socioeconomic category.

GSA’s guide to the rule is at http://interact.gsa.gov/blog/set-aside-orders-small-business#comment-857.

GSA’s Pathway to Success training course is now available online. Completion of the course is required before a contractor can receive a GSA Schedule award.

The course is at http://interact.gsa.gov/blog/new-training-course-vendors.

SBA has extended the comment period for a proposed rule tightening small business certification requirements.

The proposed rule, released Oct. 7, requires annual recertification of size status; increases penalties for misrepresentation of size status; and establishes a “presumption of loss” when a company misrepresents its eligibility for small business contracts. The latter provision will give prosecutors a new tool to recover the full amount of a contract that was awarded as a result of a willful misrepresentation.

Because of the widespread impact of the rule and the significant level of interest, SBA extended the comment period for an additional 30 days, until Dec. 8. The rule is RIN: 3245-AG23 in the Oct. 7 Federal Register.

Nearly 20 federal agencies are offering buyouts or early retirement in an effort to deal with shrinking budgets, according to Government Executive magazine. NASA and the Internal Revenue Service are the latest to join the parade.

The buyout offers generally would pay departing employees up to $25,000. Eligible workers range from a handful at some agencies to 7,500 administrative employees at the U.S. Postal service.

Dan Gordon will leave his post as head of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy at the end of the year. He will become associate dean for government contracts law at the George Washington University Law School.

Gordon’s two-year tenure drew praise from industry and government. He pushed for expansion and improvement of the federal acquisition workforce and launched a “myth busters” campaign to encourage acquisition officials to communicate with industry.

Before joining the Obama administration, he spent 17 years at the Government Accountability Office, handling bid protests for most of that time.

A career official, Lesley Field, will serve as acting administrator of OFPP. Appointment of a permanent replacement could be delayed until after the 2012 election, unless President Obama chooses some inside his administration who has already gone through the Senate confirmation process.