It’s official! On September 15, 2023, the Alaska PTAC has rebranded under the name of Alaska APEX Accelerator. The program shifted administration from Defense Logistics Agency to the DOD Office of Small Business Programs and with that shift came a …

On July 27, 2023, the Small Business Administration (SBA) released its Semi-Annual Regulatory Agenda (Agenda) summarizing nine current and projected rulemakings. Notably, the SBA identified these rules as likely to have a significant economic impact on a large number of small businesses in …

On July 19, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee declared that the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage violated the equal protection rights of a government contractor and prohibited SBA’s use of …

Each fiscal year (FY) the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), as part of the Small Business Outreach Program, conducts ten sessions of 15-minute pre-arranged virtual meetings with small businesses. These Vendor …

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) launched a new business training program tailored to military spouses entitled “The Military Spouse Pathway to Business Program.” The program supports the recent White House Executive Order 14100, which strengthens economic opportunity for military and Veteran spouses, …

Subcontracting is a hot topic in the federal government contracting world. Large businesses placing bids on federal procurements are often required to have a small business subcontracting plan, while small businesses are limited to exactly how much work they can …

The DOL announced that its Wage and Hour Division will offer online seminars for contracting agencies, contractors, unions, workers, and other stakeholders on the requirements for paying prevailing wages on federally funded construction and service contracts. Read more here.

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has launched a new initiative that seeks potential partners for its growing Civil Works R&D program. With up to $20 million available for new ERDC partnerships in fiscal year 2024, this historic effort is the …

The General Services Administration announced the launch of two online tools designed to help connect agency buyers with diverse vendors as part of the Biden Administration’s push to advance equity in government procurement. Read more here.

The Small Business Administration announced last week that it is expanding the Veterans Business Development program to bring more business support to new, or existing, veteran entrepreneurs. The expansion is made possible thanks to an additional $3.5 million previously allocated …

PTACs are now also referred to as APEX Accelerators. The Alaska PTAC is part of a nationwide network of 90+ PTAC’s all funded, in part, by the US Department of Defense. Recently, the program shifted administration from Defense Logistics Agency …

Beginning on May 26, 2023, there will be improvements to the start of the SAM.gov registration workflow.  The changes may be noticeable to returning or frequent SAM.gov registrants, but likely won’t be significant for those registering for the first time. First, …

Some Sam.gov profiles for Company JVs do not reflect 8(a) status, although it is showing up in DSBS. This is has been an ongoing issue. You may need to go into Sam.gov and refresh the Joint Venture’s profile.  This document …

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will host a Small to Small Virtual Vendor Outreach Matchmaking Event (VOME) on March 23, 2023.  This virtual event is expected to raise awareness of potential partnerships, subcontracting opportunities, and facilitate discussions that may …

Now that we’re well into the new federal fiscal year, vendors have access to many new contracting opportunities — from standard federal budget programs and cycles to existing and new procurement vehicles, such as blanket purchase agreements, governmentwide acquisition contracts, …

On January 1, 2023, the minimum wage for government contractors under Executive Order 14026 increased from $15.00 per hour to $16.20 per hour. We wrote about Executive Order 14026 and its requirements previously here. There continues to be confusion as to when …

HUBZone contractors have been anxiously awaiting updates to the HUBZone maps. In 2021, the Small Business Administration (SBA) extended the “freeze” on the HUBZone maps until June 30, 2023, to provide enough time to update the maps based on the …

In December 2022, SBA implemented a final rule that adjusts monetary-based industry size standards (i.e., receipts and assets) for inflation that occurred since 2014. The rule implements three main actions: (i) adding an additional 13.65% inflation increase to the monetary small business …

A new contract opportunity for small architectural and engineering (A&E) firms has been posted on the System for Award Management for your consideration. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) recently released eleven Requests for Qualifications …

On December 23, 2022, President Biden signed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, authorizing $858 billion in defense spending. The NDAA sets out defense policy and budget priorities for the Department of Defense (DoD). Each year, …