I am excited to 
participate in the “Best Practices for Growing Your Business Through Joint Ventures and Mentor-Protégé Strategies” panel during the East Tennessee Small Business Growth Conference on April 10, 2019 in Clinton, TN.
Visit the event page for more information and registration.
I am proud to have been named a top author in JDSupra’s 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards for my thought leadership in the government contracting space.
In addition, the post COFC Decision Foreshadows VA Proposed Rule on Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Eligibility Rules was one of last year’s top read articles.
Continue Reading JD Supra Names Todd Overman “Top Author” in 2019 Reader’s Choice Awards
I’m very pleased to share that I will be presenting at the JAMIS Summit 2019’s Government Contract Industry Forum. My presentation will focus on the current state of M&A within the industry.
The JAMIS Summit gathers experts within the finance/accounting, program/project management, purchasing, business development, human resources, and executive leadership arenas to network, learn and exchange insight on current trends and industry knowledge.
Continue Reading The Current State of M&A in the Government Contract Industry
Late last month, the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Hearings & Appeals (OHA) issued a decision adhering to its prior line of cases discussing when present effect will be given to an indication of interest (IOI) between a small business and its potential large business acquirer for size determination purposes. As with prior cases, OHA conducts a fact-intensive analysis to determine whether the parties had an agreement in principle at the time the small business submits its bid on a federal procurement. The case, Size Appeal of Enhanced Vision Systems Inc., SBA No. SIZ-5978, offers some helpful tips on how to avoid an affiliation finding when negotiating an IOI and still pursuing small business set-aside opportunities.
On October 5, 2017, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Acquisition Operations – Strategic Acquisition Center (VA) issued a small business set-aside RFP for in-home video magnification closed-circuit televisions. The solicitation had a 1,250 employee size standard. Proposals were due on December 12, 2017. Enhanced Vision Systems, Inc. (EVS) timely submitted its proposal and was subsequently acquired by Freedom Scientific, Inc., a subsidiary of VFO Holdings, BV. The contracting officer notified bidders that EVS was the apparent successful offeror. In response, FedBiz IT Solutions LLC (FedBiz), an unsuccessful offeror, challenged the awardee’s size arguing that EVS had already entered into negotiations at the time of its initial offer, and therefore should be considered affiliated with VFO, the acquiring large business. The Area Office sustained the protest, finding EVS and VFO affiliated, and therefore exceeded the employee size standard for the procurement.
Taylor Hillman and I recently discussed how small Alabama businesses can enter the world of federal contracts. The All Small Mentor-Protégé Program (ASMPP) was established by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to extend business development assistance to all small businesses and help them achieve success in competing for federal government contracts. Only 20 of the 511 approved Mentor-Protégé Agreements had Alabama addresses as of May 5, 2018, despite one of the ASMPP’s top 10 district offices being located in Alabama, showing the potential for growth of the program within the state.
The SBA created an all-inclusive program with the Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Businesses, Women Owned Small Businesses, HUBZones, and others, to streamline and enhance the program. Protégés can learn valuable lessons from mentors, including financial support; assistance in navigating the federal procurement bidding, acquisition and performance processes; business development advice including strategic planning and opportunity identification; and guidance on internal business management systems. Continue Reading Small Business Entry into Alabama Government Contracts Space
On February 15, 2019, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a consequential decision for those contractors who will compete for federal contracts as part of a mentor-protégé joint venture. In Ekagra Partners, LLC, B-408685.18, Feb. 15, 2019, the GAO partially sustained the protest on the basis of an improper limitation on the submission of teaming agreement member past performance, and partially denied the protest finding that agencies can limit the number of past performance experience projects that can be submitted in a mentor-protégé joint venture’s proposal in reliance on a large business mentor firm.
In Ekagra, the protestor challenged the terms of the request for proposals (RFP) seeking to award additional Multiple Award Task Order Contracts (MATOCs) under the General Services Administration’s (GSA) One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) Small Business (SB) Pool 1. OASIS SB Pool 1 MATOC covers a wide variety of professional services including, but not limited to, consulting, logistics, engineering, scientific, management consulting, project management, and other professional services.
What are the recent changes in rules that could impact your small business and teaming partners in federal contracting in 2019? The Small Business Administration (SBA) and Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council have recently finalized and issued proposed rules implementing provisions of past NDAAs that could alter how you team and ensure compliance with set-aside requirements on future procurements.
I will address these issues at an upcoming meeting of the Society of American Military Engineers, as well as highlight some lessons learned from SBA’s All Small Mentor Protégé Program as the program enters its third year.
Continue Reading Hot GovCon Topics Impacting Small Business in 2019
On January 31, 2019, U.S. Treasury Department, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)announced a $996,080 settlement agreement with e.l.f. Cosmetics, Inc. (ELF) to settle ELF’s potential civil liability for 156 violations of the North Korea Sanctions Regulations. According to OFAC, fake eyelash kits that ELF believed to be from China were in fact supplied from North Korea.
Presumably very few Americans awake in the middle of the night worrying that North Korean fake eyelashes pose a threat to U.S. national security. Yet in pursuing this action vigorously, OFAC made clear that it is willing to seek penalties against any U.S. business that directly or indirectly benefits the North Korean economy. In announcing the settlement, OFAC highlighted the importance of conducting “full-spectrum supply chain due diligence when sourcing products from overseas, particularly in a region in which the DPRK, as well as other comprehensively sanctioned countries or regions, is known to export goods.”
I commented about the impact the government shutdown is having on deals that require review and approval by the Committee on Foreign investment in the United States (CFIUS). CFIUS is the interagency committee authorized to review transactions involving foreign investment in the United States to determine the effect of such transactions on national security.
Due to the shutdown, many deals are now on hold and observers anticipate a backlog that could deter foreign investment in the United States. As I noted in the Bloomberg article, “You could definitely get a glut of filings that slow down the review process pretty significantly once CFIUS is back in operation.”
The full article, “Deals Needing Security Reviews on Hold as U.S. Shutdown Persists,” was published by Bloomberg Law on January 11, 2019, and is available online (subscription required).
Members of the Bass, Berry & Sims Government Contracts team successfully represented B&O JV in multiple actions brought by a competitor to challenge the awarding of a contract to our client. B&O JV is an 8(a) small business joint venture based in Dallas, TX.
In October 2017, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) issued a request for proposal (RFP) for dorm maintenance services at its training facility in Glynco, Georgia, as a competitive 8(a) set-aside. The important services support training of federal law enforcement officers and FLETC has repeatedly determined that the services cannot be interrupted.
The incumbent, SRM Group, Inc., was not eligible to compete for the contract, having graduated from the 8(a) program in 2013, but formed an 8(a) joint venture, Safeguard, which did compete for the work. Bass, Berry & Sims’ client, B&O JV, was ultimately awarded that contract and has been performing the work since October 1, 2018.