GSA Hosts Inaugural Meeting of Committee to Advise High Level Acquisition Changes

By Samantha Holt | Government Relations Analyst

Last month, the General Services Administration (GSA) held its inaugural meeting of the Acquisition Policy Federal Advisory Committee (GAP FAC). The GAP FAC advises GSA’s Administrator on how the agency’s acquisitions tools and authorities can drive positive regulatory, policy, and process changes. There are three things government contractors should take away from this meeting:

 

1.     While GAP FAC identified climate and sustainability federal acquisition issues as the initial focus, many committee members brought up challenges faced by small business contractors. The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Deputy Associate Administrator of the Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, Antonio Doss, is part of the Committee and drove this discussion. Some of the issues identified were:

• Focusing on GSA schedule barriers of entry for small, disadvantaged businesses (SDBs)

• Creating policies that tackle the climate and sustainability issues but do not create new barriers for SDBs

• Constructing teaming framework that make it easier for small businesses to bid and win large contract opportunities

• Introducing strategies that support the longevity of small businesses within federal procurement

• Creating resources to support small, disadvantaged businesses with the climate and sustainability federal acquisition regulatory, policy, and process changes

 

2.     GSA expressed its willingness to support pushing these and other small business changes with the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council. This is important for the small business community because there are often significant lag times between SBA final rulemaking and implementation of these changes in the FAR. 

 

3.     All GAP FAC full committee and subcommittee meetings are open to the public. Written comments can be submitted at gapfac@gsa.gov. Additionally, there are three subcommittees – Policy and Practices, Industry Partnerships, and Acquisition Workforce. While subcommittee meetings have not been announced, keep an eye out for them here.

 
The next GAP FAC meeting is on October 27, 2022 from 1pm – 4pm EST. 

The (Not So) New Normal: Government Contractors Should Always Plan for a Continuing Resolution

By Elizabeth Sullivan

In all but three of the last 46 fiscal years, Congress has enacted a continuing resolution (CR). Every year the same drama unfolds and the government contracting community gets understandably frustrated. Why? When there is a CR, contracts and grants suffer delays – a disaster for all involved. However, this timetable has become the norm – regular order is a thing of the past – and contractors should be prepared for it at the start of every new fiscal year.

A quick refresher on this process. There are two types of bills we will keep talking about: regular appropriation bills and CRs. Continuing resolutions continue the same level of funding from the previous fiscal year into the next fiscal year. If 12 appropriations bills are not signed into law or a CR is not passed before the new fiscal year begins on October 1, then comes a government shutdown. There was no appetite from Democrats or Republicans for a government shutdown this year – with the midterm elections coming in November, delaying the CR would have been a poor political strategy.

 

Generally speaking, the Congressional timetable for a CR is pretty much the same. The Congress passes a CR from the beginning of the new fiscal year until around the holidays, where the Members of Congress compromise before the clock strikes “Christmas.” This year, the President signed a CR into law to fund the government until December 16. If you are looking for more details on the appropriations process, they can be found here. After December 16, there will likely be another CR for a week to give appropriators the chance to iron out any differences and prepare a massive funding bill. In the end, after expressing frustration with the process, everyone goes home for the holidays. 

 

Why should government contractors care about this process? As previously mentioned, a CR generally means no new starts and usage of bridge contracts. Bridge contracts are either an extension to an existing contract beyond the period of performance or a new short-term contract awarded on a sole-source basis to avoid a lapse in service caused by a delay in awarding a subsequent contract. The federal workforce is subject to seemingly endless stop-and-start contract cycles, which creates inefficiency and disruption for the entire supply chain. This “not-so-new normal” disproportionately impacts smaller companies because it requires a reserve of capital and other resources necessary to keep the trains running. 

 

So, new normal? Not so much.

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Hearing Report: A Review and Assessment of the SBA’s HUBZone Program

 Hearing Report: A Review and Assessment of the SBA’s HUBZone Program

Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure

House Small Business Committee

July 14, 2022

 

For HUBZone certified companies and their advocates, some of the discussion in this hearing was admittedly tough to listen to. Members of Congress listened to the testimonies of HUBZone Contractors National Council Chair, Shirley Bailey, attorney Matt Schoonover, and business owners Brent Lillard and Inés Rivas-Hutchins, who talked about the importance of the HUBZone program and offered suggestions to improve and expand the program. The Chair of the Subcommittee, Kweisi Mfume (D-MD) mentioned his impatience with small business contracting issues saying that the Congress hears the same feedback from small companies but doesn’t act to fix them. Our witnesses agreed—this was not the first time they have offered suggestions on how the program could be better utilized by federal agencies. 

Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI) took the discussion one step further by asking whether the HUBZone program is worth continuing or should it be scrapped and start all over again. Ouch. Brent Lillard’s response was that offering suggestions on program improvements should not be interpreted as a call to get rid of the program. Instead, the witnesses offered the following suggestions: 

• Stop “double counting” by federal agencies. In other words, if the agency awards a contract to a HUBZone company but it is headed by a woman—the award shouldn’t be counted toward its women-owned goal and the HUBZone goals. Pick one.
• Apply the HUBZone price evaluation preference to task orders. This bill passed the House on June 8, and the Senate needs to act.
• Expand sole source contract opportunities for HUBZone companies. Get rid of the justification requirements that stifle awards to HUBZone companies (and everyone else except 8(a) program participants).
• Expand training of the acquisition workforce to better understand small business contracting programs.
• Expand the Highway Trust Fund to include HUBZone businesses.
• Modernize the employee requirement of 35% requiring residence in a HUBZone for a period over 180 days. Not that this wasn’t out of touch before COVID, but since COVID –worker shortages and the demise of “9-5 in the office 5 days a week” suggest this change is imperative.
• Expand “Attempt to Maintain” to all contracts. In other words, allow companies to show a good faith effort to meet the requirement that 35% of all employees must reside in a HUBZone area. Alternative: change the 35% requirement entirely.
• Require 1 federal agency to prioritize HUBZone contracts to increase awards – HUBZone First.

If Congress and the SBA listens to these witnesses and their suggestions, there is no doubt more companies would pursue the HUBZone certification. Federal agencies must also increase their buying from these companies. Inaction on both fronts will simply produce the current unsatisfactory results.