Navy claims new records for small biz buys

      James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, claimed new records for small business participation in Navy procurement in fiscal 2020.

      “This year has been record-breaking,” Geurts told USNI News.

      While numbers are not yet final, Geurts said Navy small business procurement exceeded $17 billion in fiscal 2020. That was about 16% of all Navy prime awards, exceeding the agency’s 15.61% goal.

      The Navy also surpassed its goals for SDBs, SDVOSBs, WOSBs, and HUBZone firms in fiscal 2020, he said.

Read more at:
USNI News article: https://bit.ly/2UXC8jw

DOL finds $224M in SCA back wages owed

      The Labor Dept.’s reviews of Service Contract Act compliance resulted in the awarding of $224 million in back wages to federally-contracted security guards, janitors and other service workers from fiscal 2014-2019, the GAO reported in a new study.

      The DOL evaluated 5,000 cases and found SCA violations in 68% of them, primarily in wage and benefit protections. Sixty cases resulted in vendors being barred from federal contracting for three years.

      Employers agreed to pay approximately $224 million in back wages.

      However, GAO noted that DOL could make better use of its enforcement strategies. “DOL does not analyze its use of enforcement tools, such as debarment or employer compliance agreements. Therefore, DOL may lack a complete picture of how it uses resources on different strategies for resolving SCA cases, as well as the effectiveness of these enforcement strategies,” the GAO wrote in the report.

Read more:
GAO Report: https://www.gao.gov/assets/720/710427.pdf

HHS seeks ‘unprecedented’ regulatory review

      HHS officials announced what they described as an “unprecedented regulatory reform through retrospective review.”

      The proposed rulemaking would require HHS to assess its regulations every 10 years to see if they are subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act. If so, then the Dept. must review the regulation every 10 years “to determine whether the regulation is still needed and whether it is having appropriate impacts.”

      “Regulations will expire if HHS does not assess and (if required) review them in a timely manner,” the announcement said.

      Comments are due by Dec. 4.

Read more at:
HHS announcement: https://bit.ly/2IYVVwK
Federal Register notice: https://bit.ly/3pYG0za

Inside this edition:

Biden has big plans for small disadvantaged fed’l contractors

GSA’s Murphy OK’s transition

For 21 days of election chaos, Rubio hesitant on Biden victory

Turmoil in weeks ahead

Biden names Cabinet picks

SBA to revise size standards

Velazquez wants tax change in PPP

Caution on PPP loan questionnaires

Column: Column: Feeling Whiplash?
What are small business contractors to do?

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Coronavirus Update