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, …

The Alaska Unified Certification Program (AUCP) Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) directory has been updated and can be found at https://dot.alaska.gov/cvlrts/directory.shtml

According to the Small Business Administration, the application portal to apply for Veteran Small Business Certification will begin taking applications starting January 9, 2023. On January 1, 2023, the Small Business Administration took over the Department of Veterans Affairs Center for Verification …

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is amending its regulations to implement a statutory requirement to certify Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) Concerns and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Concerns participating in the Veteran Small Business Certification Program. Section 862 of the …

GSA is asking for any assistance with distributing this requirement to small business construction firms serving AK. GSA, PBS, Region 10 has published a solicitation for recurring non-complex construction projects throughout the state of Alaska. This solicitation may result in one …

It’s an important question. NAICS codes have a lot to say and savvy businesses learn to listen. If you know them well, you can use them to your advantage. North American Industry Classification System codes—“NAICS” codes—are an industrial categorization system …