Legal Meets Practical: Accessible Solutions

Archive for June, 2018

27 Jun 2018

The New VetBiz Website: It’s Not You, It’s Them

UPDATE: As of June 6, 2018, the VetBiz site is still down with the exception of the search function. Document requests continue to be suspended, and there is no information as when the CVE will be back to business as usual (to include the processing of applications and complete usability of VetBiz portals).

I write this to clear up confusion for folks involved with veteran-owned small businesses registered with the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs (“VA”) VetBiz registry, which is the database for all businesses approved for SDVOSB and VOSB set-aside work with the VA.

Specifically, if you’re undergoing verification and/or have been on their new site, you might be tearing your hair out in light of the new login system. For example, if you’ve logged in, where on earth is your business information? Why can’t you log in? If you can’t log in, what about that pending document request or your expiring verified status?

Here’s the gist. On May 21, the VA shut down all access to the VetBiz site while completing updates, relaying that it would be up and running in 30 days. This meant that if you wanted to get VetBiz-verified, or re-verified, you had to hit “submit” on May 20 before the system went down (during the system upgrades, applications were still being processed).

On June 22, the VetBiz site was updated with information on how to get an account under the new system. The process is different for veteran owners compared with non-veterans and representatives, with the latter requiring inputting multiple codes sent via text and the answering of several security questions (similar to the D&B process). However, when one logged in to the system, they would find no information in their portal, while their old account still worked.

Earlier this week, the old system was phased out, meaning that no one had (or still has) access to it, with business information in the process of being migrated over to the new one. Here are the major snags:

  • The business information from the legacy system is not yet in the new system. This means that for those of you who have logged into your new portal, it looks empty. Accordingly, if you were looking forward to getting back to work on your application after the 30-day hold, or have a document request pending, you won’t be able to complete these tasks.
  • Anyone who is not the veteran owner has been booted from any and all business accounts for which they are a representative. The only way for them to be added to the account is for the veteran owner (only) to sign up for an account under the new system and to add the non-veteran as a representative.
  • If you are not yet in the new system, you will not be receiving alerts relating to document requests and the expiration of your verification period because these are generated from the legacy system. As such, when access to the new system becomes available, make sure you have an active account so you receive any alerts pertinent to your verified status/verification application. (As an FYI, however, while I was informed of this via the help desk, I am still receiving alerts despite having been removed as a representative across the board).

So. . . what can you do? .

  • If you have a pending document request – If you have a document request that is outstanding, the CVE will be extending your time because they are aware you can’t access your account.
  • If your verification period is expiring soon – As of now, the system has now been out of commission for approximately 35 days. The hope is for those businesses that are expiring soon, the CVE will provide a reasonable extension of their verified period. However, there has been no announcement has of yet, and it might be difficult for the CVE to identify the affected companies and take appropriate steps.
  • If you have been unable to apply for verification for the first time, or for re-verification – There is no information available as to when the site will be up. However, as soon as it goes up, if you have the ability to hit “submit,” do so before it goes down again. That will at least get you in the queue to be assigned to an intake analyst (which has been taking about three weeks). During this system upgrade, it is still business as usual on the examination side.

I’ll share any updates there are to provide, and please know this information is from my own experience, conversations with the help desk and other pertinent individuals, and the website. It is as accurate as possible, and I’ll update this article to reflect any changes.

*Did you find this article informative? If so, sign up for Sarah Schauerte’s legal blog at: https://legalmeetspractical.com.

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21 Jun 2018

OIG Report: Agencies Score an F in WOSB Sole Source Awards

In a report released by the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) just yesterday, contracting agencies were heatedly criticized for failing to comply with the requirements for awarding sole source contracts under the Woman-Owned Small Business (“WOSB”) Program. The potential cost of this mistake? $52.2 million.

As an initial note, the requirements for awarding sole source contracts to WOSBS are set forth at FAR 19.1506. This provides that a contracting officer may award a sole source contract to an economically-disadvantaged WOSB, or EDWOSB, when: WOSBs are underrepresented in the applicable NAICS code, the contracting officer does not have a reasonable expectation that offers would be received from two or more EDWOSB concerns, and the anticipated award will not be greater than $4 million (for contracts other than manufacturing). The requirements for sole source awards to WOSBs are the same, with the added requirement that WOSBs be substantially underrepresented.

If the SBA’s OIG report was to assigned a grade to contracting officers for following sole source requirements, it would be an F. Of other findings, the OIG found that contracting officers did not comply with sole source requirements for 50 out of 56 contracts. That’s 11%!

The OIG report found that contracting officers awarded sole source contracts to WOSBs without the necessary documentation to determine eligibility for 50 of the 56 Program contracts they reviewed. Examples of missing documentation included WOSB and EDWOSB self-certifications, articles of incorporation, birth certificates, and financial information. Without this documentation, it was not possible to ascertain that a firm was owned and controlled by a woman who is a U.S. citizen. Specifically, contracting officers awarded 18 contracts, valued at $11.7 million, on a sole-source basis, to firms that had no documentation in Certify.SBA.gov, and 32 contracts, valued at $40.5 million, to firms that uploaded incomplete documentation.

Compounding these issues, within these 56 contracts, the OIG found instances where contracting officers had awarded a contract using a NAICS code that SBA had not identified as being substantially underrepresented by women-owned businesses. Additionally, contracting officers awarded two contracts to Program firms for NAICS codes that were identified by SBA, but the firms had not identified themselves as being eligible small businesses for those codes.

Also, the SBA OIG found that the firms that received those contracts did not comply with the Program’s self-certification requirements. These conditions could have been precluded had SBA implemented a certification program the same time it implemented the sole-source authority provisions. As a result, there is no assurance that Program set-aside contracts awarded on a sole-source basis were awarded to eligible WOSB or EDWOSB firms.

The OIG report offered five recommendations to improve sole source procedures and ensure awards are made only to eligible firms:

  1. Conduct eligibility reviews for the firms we identified in this report that lacked the required documentation in Certify.SBA.gov and require those firms to remove their designation in the System for Award Management
  2. Initiate debarment proceedings, if warranted based on the results of eligibility reviews in Recommendation #1.
  3. Implement a Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program certification process as required by the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2015.
  4. Conduct quarterly reviews of firms with newly obtained WOSB or EDWOSB status, to ensure that they have the required documentation in Certify.SBA.gov, until SBA implements a Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program certification process.
  5. Conduct quarterly reviews of Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation data for Program set-aside contracts to ensure Federal agencies’ contracting officers used the appropriate North American Industry Classification System codes and take the necessary action(s) with identified exceptions.
  6. In coordination with the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the General Services Administration, strengthen controls in the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation to prevent Federal agencies’ contracting officers from using ineligible North American Industry Classification System codes.

As most are well aware, WOSBs are fairly underrepresented with respect to the receipt of set-aside and sole source contracts from the federal government. (This is reflected in the small business scorecard the SBA released in 2018). This underscores the unfortunate nature of the SBA OIG’s findings, as it demonstrates that those lucky enough to receive a bit of the “WOSB federal pie” may not have been allowed to order from the menu in the first place.

Access the full SBA OIG report here.

Did you find this article informative? If so, sign up for Sarah Schauerte’s legal blog on federal contracting issues at: https://legalmeetspractical.com.

Some folks shouldn’t have taken a piece. . .

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04 Jun 2018

Veteran News In One Hot Minute

Now that the federal government has had a week to catch up after their three-day holiday, you might have an influx of emails and deliverables since everyone’s back in action. Accordingly, in lieu of a longer post, here are three quick items for you to peruse:

The New VetBiz Verification Guidebook is Out! Several years ago, I created a comprehensive guidebook to address all major issues with VetBiz verification (eligibility criteria, the process, re-verification, cancellations, audits, etc). For anyone who is in the VetBiz registry (which is the VA’s way of tracking businesses it has cleared as “veteran-owned small businesses” or “service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses,” and therefore eligible for its set-aside opportunities), you may have noticed a lot of recent changes to the process. This Guidebook is updated as of June 1, 2018 and is a one-stop shop for everything you need to know if you want to get/stay verified.

NVSBC Conference in Only One Week! Every year, I attend and speak at the National Veteran Small Business Coalition’s conference in Virginia Beach. This year, they’ve moved it a short distance away to historic Williamsburg, Virginia, where they’ll have knowledgeable speakers on a variety of federal procurement topics, an Exhibit Hall, and a chance to rub elbows with prospective teaming partners and procurement officials. Especially if you’re in the D.C. area, consider taking the trip from June 11th through the 14th, because Scott Denniston and the folks up top at the NVSBC do a wonderful job of providing a conference with a lot of value. While the hotel where the conference is being held is full, there are plenty of other lodging options in the area. (We’re booked at the Great Wolf Lodge). For non-NVSBC members, registration is $649 if you do it ahead of time ($449 for members).

Peter O’Rourke Tapped as New VA Acting Secretary. President Trump has tapped longtime VA official Peter O’Rourke as the agency’s acting secretary, the White House announced last Wednesday, a move that comes ahead of the confirmation hearing of VA secretary-designate Robert Wilkie. O’Rourke, who previously served as chief of staff for the agency and as its executive director for the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, took on the role effective last Tuesday, the White House office of the press secretary announced in a statement.

That’s it and that’s all! For more news on issues affecting veteran-owned businesses, sign up for my legal blog at: https://legalmeetspractical.com. Remember to click the link to activate your subscription!

 

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