Small Business Administration
-
Veteran owned small businesses might have too many options to help them earn federal contracting opportunities. And the differences between the Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern and Vets First program are confusing. Marci Love Thomas is senior counsel at the General Counsel's government contracts practice and former senior attorney adviser at the Small Business Administration. She tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the differences between the two programs.
August 27, 2015 -
The year-old DATA Act is forcing agencies to standardize their financial data. And, even without a law, Congress and regulatory agencies slowly are doing the same with legislation and regulations.
July 29, 2015 -
Agencies will likely go a relative spending spree between now and the end of the fiscal year. But some small companies could be missing out on potential contracts. Marci Love Thomas is a senior counsel in the government contracts practice at General Counsel, and a former senior attorney advisor for the Small Business Adminstration. She tells In Depth guest host Jared Serbu that there are two things that could impact companies in the small business 8(a) program, and also small businesses more generally.
July 16, 2015 -
-
The federal government awarded 24.99 percent of its prime contract dollars to small firms during fiscal 2014, the largest percentage on record. But Congressional overseers called the administration’s statistics misleading since they do not account for tens of billions of dollars in federal spending.
June 29, 2015 -
-
The IRS would face even greater financial constraints and federal building construction would grind nearly to a halt under a $20.2 billion FY 2016 spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee.
June 17, 2015 -
Less than half of the paperwork the Small Business Administration finishes when an employee or contractor leaves the agency is complete and filled out correctly. SBA\'s inspector general said the agency isn\'t following its own separation procedures when an employee leaves. Seventy-three network accounts are still active for employees who are already gone. SBA is supposed to deactivate those accounts within 24 hours after an employee leaves. Troy Meyer, assistant inspector general for audit at the Small Business Administration\'s Office of Inspector General, tells In Depth with Francis Rose where his office started with this report.
June 08, 2015 -
A new bill would let companies challenge the agency through an administrative process that promises to be simpler and cheaper than litigation. Witnesses at a congressional hearing said they feared new size standards would alter competition for $200 billion in small-business set asides.
June 08, 2015 -
The Small Business Administration is reopening the comment period for a rule proposed late last year. The SBA is trying to bring small business contracting rules in line with what was mandated by the 2013 Defense Authorization Act. But critics say the SBA's approach is unfair to small businesses. Many of them would qualify as large businesses, while several large businesses could qualify as small. Tim Sullivan is a partner at the law firm Thompson Coburn and a long-time procurement attorney. He joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive with his take.
April 03, 2015 -
The Small Business Administration is proposing two new rule changes that the small business contracting community doesn't like at all. The first proposal changes the standards for small business set asides and subcontracts. Charles Tiefer is a law professor at the University of Baltimore, and former commissioner of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained what's going on.
April 01, 2015 -
Small businesses could soon compete for contracts in more industries, according to a new bill from House Small Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot (R-Ohio). He introduces the Small Contractors Improve Competition Act. It's looking at industries that don't do much government business and ways to attract those small businesses to compete. It also sets an annual small business goal for each agency. Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller tells In Depth with Francis Rose about the bill and how it could impact your agency.
March 23, 2015 -
A new bill from the House Small Business Committee chairman would require SBA to develop a new methodology to measure how effective agencies are in ensuring small firms receive prime and subcontracts awards.
March 20, 2015 -
The Small Business Administration has a problem with its Historically Underutilized Business Zones designation. According to a new GAO report, SBA has no way to inform businesses when they might no longer qualify as a HUBZone. Or when the zone they operate in might not longer be considered a HUBZone. For more on the report, and what SBA can do to improve, Bill Shear, director of Financial Markets and Community Investment Issues at the GAO, joined Tom Temin on the Federal Drive.
February 23, 2015 -
He's been the voice for the farmer when EPA regulations call for spilled milk to be treated like an oil spill. Advocacy is about relieving unnecessary burden for small businesses without losing sight of the goal of the regulation. Dr. Winslow Sargeant is chief counsel for advocacy at the Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy. Today is his last day on the job. Before leaving, he joined the Federal Drive with Tom Temin to review his time at the agency,
January 23, 2015