President Barack Obama and House Republican leader John Boehner each put a proposal on the table to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, but as of press time there was no deal. Initial reports were that Obama made a concession to the GOP by agreeing to extend tax breaks for people making $250,000 to $400,000 a year--while holding firm on higher taxes for those making over $400,000. Bohner then submitted a “Plan B” that would bring higher rates only on taxpayers with incomes of more than $1 million a year. Also up in the air is the outcome to Obama’s request to lift the nation’s debt ceiling as part of the fiscal cliff agreement, in order to avoid another showdown over the debt ceiling early in 2013.

The Small Business Administration is proposing more changes to size standards. On Dec. 6, the agency published a Federal Register notice of increases in allowable size for industries in NAICS Sector 21, which covers mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction. Comments are due by Feb. 4. Read the Federal Register notice here: http://goo.gl/6CGuv

SBA also published final rules affecting two NAICS sectors. The rules both go into effect on Jan. 7, 2013

The first is for increasing size standards for NAICS Sector 51, Information, which will make about 500 additional firms eligible for small business status. Read the Federal Register notice here: http://goo.gl/XWqgz

The second is for NAICS Sector 56 (Administrative and Support, Waste Management and Remediation Services), which will make about 2,700 more firms eligible for small business status. Read the notice: http://goo.gl/W0IPA

Federal agencies were to begin providing written justifications for all 8(a) sole-source contracts over $20 million under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal 2010.

But because of nearly a year’s delay in implementing the new law, agencies approved $2.3 billion in such contracts without the justifications, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.

The Federal Acquisition Regulation Council missed the deadline by 325 days, the GAO said.

More information:
GAO report http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-118

The SBA’s Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program provided more than $3 billion in growth capital to more than 1,000 small businesses in fiscal 2012, a 17% increase from the previous year, according to the latest annual report.

Karen Mills, SBA administrator, said the program also has streamlined its operations, so that it took an average of 5.4 months to get an SBIC fund licensed in 2012, down from 14.6 months in 2009.

More information:
Annual SBIC report http://www.sba.gov/inv/annualreport

A recent audit by the Defense Department’s Inspector General reviewed 20 direct interagency acquisitions, valued at $13.7 million, to determine whether DoD and Veterans Affairs improved their interagency procurements.

In one of their findings, the auditors found that DOD contracting officers had difficulty determining whether the $5.3 million they paid for 131 open-market products was fair and reasonable. The contracting officers relied on vendor quotes and price lists without verifying that the products were on VA’s Federal Supply Schedules, the inspector general’s report said.

As a result, DoD might not have always received the best value, the auditors said.

In a response, Herbert Coley, chief of staff for the Army’s Office of the Surgeon General, wrote that contracting officers will get refresher training courses focusing on issues with pricing and getting fair discounts.

More information:
DOD Inspector General’s report http://goo.gl/T66Ka

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-MO, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security subcommittee on contracting oversight, thinks the government is missing out on discounts and rebates in their cafeteria contracts.

McCaskill wrote a letter to the White House urging a review of how 14 agencies have contracted with eight food companies.

Federal government spends $6.8 billion annually in food service contracts, according to Government Executive.

More information:
McCaskill’s letter http://goo.gl/Pqf4E
GovExec.com article http://goo.gl/iu7Af

U.S. Border Patrol agents will stop being interpreters for local police agencies at the U.S. borders, and instead recommend that contractors be used, according to a decree issued by the Homeland Security Department, the Associated Press reported.

Under the new guidance, border agents should refer such requests to private services often used by government agencies.

“The new guidance related to requests for translation services helps further focus CBP efforts on its primary mission to secure our nation’s borders,” Customs and Border Protection said.