Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to Alaska businesses and residents as a result of President Biden’s major disaster declaration, U.S. Small Business Administration’s Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced. The declaration covers the Bering Strait, Kashunamiut, Lower Kuskokwim and Lower Yukon …

September 21, 2022 Today is National PTAC Day, a collective campaign to celebrate the contracting successes of small businesses that have benefited from assistance provided by their local Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).  The Alaska PTAC provides businesses throughout the …

On September 9, 2022, the Small Business Administration (SBA) published a proposed rule that would make many significant changes to SBA’s 8(a) program requirements, the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and HUBZone programs, subcontracting, protests, and more. Public comments on SBA’s proposals are …

On August 22, 2022, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) will implement a final rule that provides two new methods by which small businesses can obtain past performance credit when competing for federal prime contracts. First, the rule allows certain small business …

To ensure entities are in control of who has permission to edit and maintain their information, individuals assigned a SAM.gov Entity Administrator role must hold a position within the entity (e.g., employees, officers, board members), and cannot be a third party acting on …

If you’re a small business owner looking into government contracting, you’ve probably seen the well-meaning advice: Just go to SAM.gov and search for contracts. If you find one that seems like a fit, bid on it. If you’re the best applicant, you’ll …

While many industries have existed since time immemorial, new industries are created and old industries fade all the time. A mere twenty-five years ago, there was no such thing as social media and video rental stores were all the rage. …

The President believes that when we spend American taxpayers’ dollars, it should support American workers and businesses. In his first week in office, President Biden signed Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in America by All of America’s …

The House on June 8 approved five bills aimed at assisting small businesses and two bills that would strengthen rules to identify small business fraud.  The bills, which go before the Senate next, include: –HR 7670: Establishes reporting for the …

The Veterans Affairs Department launched its new Pathfinder website on June 7 to help new and existing vendors find a path into VA procurements. The website is located at https://www.pathfinder.va.gov/. Upon entering the website, users are asked whether they want …

On June 8, 2022, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill, referred to as H.R. 7694, “Strengthening Subcontracting for Small Businesses Act of 2022” (the Bill). The Bill seeks to amend the Small Business Act by requiring federal agencies to …

Let’s review a few basics about the new entity validation process in SAM.gov:  If you want to register in SAM.gov or even just get a Unique Entity ID, you must validate your  entity information with our new Entity Validation Service …

The General Services Administration (GSA) announced progress in its ongoing efforts to strengthen the federal supply chain and reduce supply chain risk by using its Verified Products Portal (VPP) to monitor and remove products from unauthorized suppliers. Launched in 2020, …

The Department of Defense has created a new framework of cybersecurity requirements and certifications contractors must achieve under the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC). But what about the DOD contractors that mostly outsource their IT and cybersecurity to managed service providers? The Pentagon’s CMMC …

The Labor Dept.’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs launched a new online Contractor Portal in February allowing certain federal contractors to certify compliance with Affirmative Action Program (AAP) requirements. The deadline is June 30. Federal supply and service contractors …

If you’re a small business owner interested in government contracts, you’ve probably heard about the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program. The 8(a) Program itself is complex, and its eligibility rules are some of stricter rules out there; but its potential …

Transportation departments in all 50 states and Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico used engineering consultants to assist them on federal-aid highway construction projects, a survey by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act authorized an …

The update comes after a recent study analyzing industry gaps for women-owned businesses revealed that women-owned businesses are underrepresented or substantially underrepresented in the federal marketplace. The updated list will now support agencies in allocating set-asides for WOSB and economically …

While change over the last couple of years has been focused on COVID issues, agencies continue to assess new ways to manage their core responsibilities. As one such change, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) officially launched the Contractor …

The Small Business Administration’s HUBZone office will soon end the principal office flexibility it introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting April 1, 2022, firms will no longer be able to count employees who spend most of their time working at …