Small Businesses Alarmed by What Administration Considers Procurement "Reform"... and Large Businesses Should Be

Posted on June 8, 2010 by Lynn Patton Thompson

The Federal Times.com recently reported on proposed procurement "reforms" that will adversely impact business opportunities for small businesses. The term "procurement reform" suggests changes aimed at increasing contracting opportunities, improving fairness in the procurement system, or lowering the cost of goods and services. The Administration’s proposed changes do not aim to do any of these.

The Obama Administration is considering, among other things, converting services typically performed by small businesses from private performance to government performance. According to Federal Times.com, this change would impact service contractors that provide maintenance services, food services, and information technology services which are typically performed by small businesses. Contacting reforms anger small businesses. 

The Obama Administration is also looking at other changes that will burden small businesses. It is feared that "strategic sourcing", which combines government needs to achieve economy of scale, will limit those needs for goods or services that small businesses can meet. Stricter environmental requirements are likely to make it difficult for small businesses to compete effectively, too. 

Another change is the Administration’s "High Road" contracting policy which would favor the award of federal contacts to employers who pay higher salaries or provide better benefits. The Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon Act already require service contractors to pay not less than prevailing, that is, market, wage rates. Why is an initiative that would increase costs to business and the government on the agenda?

Some critics claim the High Road initiative will inject more subjectivity into the procurement process while others say it is meant to reward union support for Obama. AFL-CIO union head opposes ‘High Road’ contracting policy. The FederalTimes.com points out that it is likely to damage small businesses. While small businesses do not have the financial resources to outpace the market for wages or benefits, larger companies aren’t likely to have them, either. Could it be that the High Road policy is not meant as a reform to reduce government contracting costs but meant to re-engineer American enterprise through government purchasing—at any cost?

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Hubzone Contracts Take Set-Aside Priority Over 8(a) Program

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Lynn Patton Thompson

In Mission Critical Solutions v. United States, COFC No. 09-864 C (March 2, 2010), the Court of Federal Claims has determined that the HUBZone program takes priority over the 8(a) program.

Mission Critical Solutions ("MCS") was certified as both an 8(a) and HUBZone small business. In 2008, the Department of the Army awarded MCS a one-year sole-source 8(a) contract for just under $3.5 million to provide information technology ("IT") services. For the follow-on requirement, which was valued (including options) at approximately $10.5 million (in excess of the applicable $3.5 million ceiling on sole-source contracts), the Army determined it could not make award to MCS. However, the Army decided it could make a sole-source 8(a) award to Copper River Information Technology, LLC ("Copper River"), an Alaska Native Corporation, if the SBA would approve Copper River as the IT provider for the requirement. SBA accepted the requirement on behalf of Copper River under its 8(a) program and the Army made the award.

MCS protested the sole-source 8(a) award to Copper River to the GAO. MCS argued that the Army was required to compete the requirement as a HUBZone business set-aside. The GAO sustained MCS’s protest. However, the Office of Management and Budget ordered that executive agencies disregard the GAO’s ruling until the Office of Legal Counsel of the United States Justice Department ("OLC") reviewed the matter. After the OLC declared its disagreement with GAO, the Army took the position that it had no authority to take any action inconsistent with the OLC’s position. Thus, MCS’s request for protest costs and a second protest against the award were denied by GAO as "academic", because the Army had stated its position that GAO recommendations could not be followed in the matter. MCS took its protest to the Court of Federal Claims.

Chief Judge Emily Hewitt sided with MCS and declared the Army’s award to Copper River under the 8(a) program not in accordance with law. The Army’s argument that there is parity between the 8(a) and HUBZone requirements was rejected. Judge Hewitt found that the HUBZone statute mandates set-asides for competition among HUBZone concerns whenever there is a reasonable expectation that at least 2 qualified HUBZone firms will submit offers and award can be made at a reasonable price. The plain language of the HUBZone statute at 15 USC § 657a(b)(2) requires such set-asides "[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law". Moreover, whereas contracting officers "may" decide to award contracts under the 8(a) program when the HUBZone statutory set-aside criteria are not met, there is no such discretion for contracting officers when the HUBZone statutory are met. Judge Hewitt enjoined the Army from awarding the IT support services contract without first determining whether the "rule of two" is met "such that the contract opportunity at issue in this case must be awarded on the basis of competition among qualified HUBZone small business concerns."

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