Legal Meets Practical

Every quarter, I prepare a newsletter that covers the “big ticket” items of interest to veterans and veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs). To access a newsletter from my archives, click on a link below. If you are interested in receiving weekly updates pertinent to veteran-owned small business, sign up for my blog (this page, left). Please remember to click the link sent to your email to activate your subscription.

Winter 2015 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter__LMP_Holiday)

• Coming Soon: The Kingdomware Decision!
• Bid Protest Decisions That Can Save You Money
• House Bill Shames VA For Letting Officials Keep Stolen Money
• Three Big Changes to VetBiz Verification
• Certain Disabilities to Be Presumed Service-Connected for Camp Lejeune Vets
• SBA Seeks Comments on New WOSB Certification Program

October 2015 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter__LMP_Fall)

• The VA’s special filing cabinet (and other horrors)
• Can the VHA leadership fix a broken system?
• False Claims suit is cautionary tale for all SDVOSBs
• The calamity continues: what new in Colorado?
• SBA proposes credit for lower-tier subcontracts
• New rule authorizes WOSB sole source contacts
• VA benefits chief resigns in wake of relocation scandal

July 2015 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter__LMP_Summer)

• Kingdomware granted cert by the Supreme Court
• Norfolk pastor sentenced for fraudulent submission of over 90 VA claims forms
• The Jan Frye memorandum exposing VA illegal procurement practices (and its wide-ranging effects)
• The VA’s $100 million bailout of a project dubbed the “biggest construction failure” in the history of the VA
• Details on the next two VA small business conferences
• Impressions from the National Veteran Small Business Coalition’s annual conference.
• The resignation of Jeffrey Gault from the VA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation and the substantive changes he’s made to the VetBiz program

April 2015 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_Spring.pdf)

• VA Shenanigans: Public Shaming With A Purpose
• FedBid’s Blink-And-You-Missed-It-Suspension
• SBA Proposes Universal Mentor-Protege Program
• SBA Rule Could Majorly Impact Small Businesses
• The Truth About CVE Site Visits
• VETS 15: A VOSB Conference Worth Attending

December 2014 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter Winter.pdf)

• Bid Protests Result in VA Having No One to Run the CVE
• Civilian Board of Contract Appeals Discovery Sanctions Reward VA for Bad Behavior
• U.S. Court of Federal Claims Case Educates CVE On Its Own Rules
• VA Secretary McDonald Announces Massive Health Overhaul
• The GAO: Where Recommendations Actually Mean Something
• Impressions from the VA’s National Veterans Small Business Engagement.

October 2014 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter__Fall)

• VA “House Cleaning” is Light Dusting (Four Employees Proposed for Firing)
• They Shot the Unicorn! CVE Kills Simplified Renewal (And Other Changes)
• Govt. Report Focused On Saving Money in Paying Vets’ Claims Gets Major Heat
• Registration Open for VA’s Annual VOSB Conference
• VA Secretary’s 90-Day Improvement Plan Suggests Superman Complex
• $16 Billion VA Health Care Bill to Fix Broken System

Summer 2014 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_Summer)

• VA to Transfer VetBiz to SBA…Eventually
• The Rule of Two: How Much Does it Help SDVOSBs?
• VA Wants $17.6 Billion to Fix Healthcare
• The SBA Set-Aside Scorecard: Which Agencies Didn’t Make the Grade?
• Atlanta Announced as VA’s 2014 National Conference Location

Spring 2014 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_Spring)

• Transferring VetBiz to SBA to Save $5 Million Per Year
• Facing VetBiz Reverification? Expect a Full Document Review
• VA Denies Deadly Wait Times in Phoenix
• Vet with Service Dog Kicked Out of Texas Starbucks
• VA Launches GI Bill Comparison Tool
• Will I See You in Reno? The Annual NVSBC Conference

Holiday (Winter) 2013 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_Holiday)

• The Government Shutdown: Lessons Learned(?) – Lawmakers’ Attempt to Enhance Protection of VA Benefits
• VA Errors Force More Vets Into Appeals On Disability Claims – The (Negative) Effects of the VA’s Backlog Initiative
• VA Abruptly Cancels Contract Crucial to VetBiz Application Processing
• Kingdomware Decision Kicked Up to Federal Circuit
• Spotlight on Fraud: Another Rent-A-Vet
• GAO Report Scrutinizes Qualifications of VA-Accredited Representatives
• Piggy the Pug: I’m a Service Dog, Too!
• Drastic House Bill Asks VA to Hand Over VetBiz Verification to the SBA

Summer 2013 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_Summer_2013)

• The Center for Veterans Enterprise’s new position on transfer restrictions
• The VA’s proposed rulemaking to amend its VOSB regulations (38 CFR Part 74)
• The brand new Stolen Valor Act and its criminal penalties for lying about military honors
• The VA’s new initiative to expedite disability compensation claims that have been pending a year or more
• The details of the VA’s National Veterans Small Business Conference in St. Louis

April 2013 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_April_2013) Topics covered in the April 2013 issue include:

• How sequestration affects the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• The VA’s new Fully Developed Claims Program (for disability compensation claims)
• The recent Court of Federal Claims case that exposed irregularities between the VA Veterans First Program and the SBA’s SDVOSB Program
• The vulnerability in SAM.gov that affects thousands of contractors
• The recent upgrades to the Center for Veterans Enterprise’s VetBiz website

January 2013 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_January_2013) Topics covered in the January 2013 issue include:

• 2012 National Defense Authorization Act provisions impacting small business
• VA’s launch of a ($3 million) contest designed to replace its outdated Medical Appointment Scheduling System
• Recent case law developments relating to the VA’s obligation to conduct FSS set-asides for VOSBs and SDVOSBs
• VA’s recognition of five disabilities as secondary to service-connected Traumatic Brain Injury
• Current wait times for VetBiz Requests for Reconsideration

October 2012 Issue (VOSB_Newsletter_October_2012) Topics covered in the October 2012 issue include:

• The amendment to the Notice of Rights language included in VetBiz denial letters
• The skinny on the August 2012 GAO report detailing fraud and abuse in the SDVOSB program
• VA’s recent attempts to avoid conducting SDVOSB set-asides
• How VA verification affects more than just VA contracts
• The new bi-annual re-verification requirement in VetBiz