1. Small Business Committee
Holland and Knight, LLP
Tysons Corner, VA
September 16, 2015

2. Agenda Guest Speakers: Legal Update: Joe Hornyak, Holland and Knight
Jerome Fletcher, GSA Associate Administrator for Small Business
GSA’s Office of Small Business Utilization
Warren Blankenship, Deputy Director, IT Schedule 70
RFI: “Proposed Changes to Make It Easier for
Suppliers to Work with the Government”
Legal Update: Joe Hornyak, Holland and Knight
Coalition Acquisition Policy Update
Upcoming Training and Events

3. GSA Office of Small Business Utilization Jerome Fletcher, GSA Associate Administrator for Small Business

4. RFI: Proposed Changes to Make It Easier for Suppliers to Work with the Government Warren Blankenship, Deputy Director, IT Schedule 70

5. SBA Pending Regulations
September 10, 2014: Size standards for manufacturing and other employee-based size standards (including ITVAR / Footnote 18)
Comment period closed November 10, 2014
June 4, 2015 Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce hearing: “Sizing Up Small Business: SBA’s Failure to Implement Congressional Direction”
December 29, 2014: Revisions to Limitations on Subcontracting rule (implementing NDAA of 2013)
Comment period closed April 6, 2015
CGP submitted Comments
February 5, 2015: Expansion of Mentor-Protégé program (implementing NDAA of 2013)
Comment period closed May 6, 2015
May 1, 2015: Sole Source Contracts for Woman-Owned Small Business (implementing NDAA of 2015)
Final Rule Issued September 14, 2015

6. Sole Source Contracts for WOSBs
Authorizes sole source awards to Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) and Economically Disadvantaged WOSBs where:
(1) the firm is a responsible contractor and the contracting officer does not have a reasonable expectation that two or more WOSBs or EDWOSBs will submit offers;
(2) the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will not exceed $6.5 million for manufacturing or $4 million for any other contract; and
(3) the CO determines that award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.
Limited to industries in which WOSBs are “substantially underrepresented” and EDWOSBs are “underrepresented” as determined by SBA.
Creates parity among WOSB/EDWOSB and other SBA programs.
Final Rule becomes effective October 14, 2015, but FAR will need to be updated.
SBA deferred for future rule-making implementation of requirement for certification as WOSB or EDWOSB by a federal or state agency or national certifying entity approved by SBA (per section 825 of NDAA).

7. Kingdomware v. United States
U.S. Supreme Court to decide long-running series of bid protests by veteran-owned businesses challenging the Department of Veterans Affairs’ refusal to set aside procurements under so-called “Rule of Two.”
The Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of states that “for purposes of meeting [VA’s veterans contracting] goals” the VA “shall” restrict competition to veteran-owned concerns where there is a reasonable expectation of offers two or more veteran- owned businesses. 38 U.S.C. § 8127(d).
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims and Federal Circuit ruled that the statute does not apply where VA orders off Federal Supply Schedules.
The Federal Circuit reasoned that the Rule of Two applies only where VA not meeting its veterans contracting goals.
The Supreme Court described the issue as follows: “Whether the Federal Circuit erred in construing 38 U.S.C. § 8127(d)’s mandatory set-aside restricting competition for Department of Veterans Affairs’ contracts to veteran-owned small businesses as discretionary.”

8. Acquisition Policy Update
IT Schedule 70
Comments submitted on Health IT and Cyber SINs
Extension issued for Making it Easier to Do Business RFI- now due Oct 9
Commercial Supplier Agreement Deviation
Major change making commercial supplier agreements subordinate to and any solicitation terms
Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces
Comments submitted in response to Department of Labor Guidance and FAR proposed rule
Major labor reporting requirement covering 14 Federal statutes and “equivalent” state laws
GSA Transactional Data
Coalition developing alternative to present at Fall Conference

9. Upcoming Events & Training
Webinar- Cost Build Approach with Baker Tilly
September 24 | 12:00pm-1:00pm
Excellence in Partnership Awards & Fall Training
Conference
October 21 | 6:00pm-10:00pm
October 22 | 7:30am-6:00pm
Excellence in Partnership Awards
Keynote: GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth
Silent Auction benefiting Coalition for Government Procurement Endowed Scholarship Fund with George Washington University
2015 Fall Training Conference: Acquisition Reform: Assessing the Impact on Business Opportunities and Liabilities
Role of Acquisition in Cybersecurity
Legislative Reform: What to Expect from the Hill
Executive Agencies: Leading Acquisition Change
Business Outlook: New Opportunities, New Challenges
Breakout sessions: DoD Updates, VA, DHS, Alliant, GSA and VA Schedules Modernization, GSA Acquisition Centers, Government-wide IT Acquisitions Update

10. Thank you