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    Archives for June 13

    Jun 4, 2013

    President Obama this week will propose legislation that would reduce payments for executive compensation tied to cost reimbursment contracts, Federal Procurement Policy Administrator Joe Jordan said in a May 30 blog post.

    Currently, under part of the fiscal 1998 national defense authorization act codified as 41 USC §1127, companies with cost reimbursment contracts can claim as part of their overhead relevant portions of executive compensation capped at $763,000 annually. If Congress doesn't pass legislation that lowers the cap, it will go up to more than $950,000 in the coming weeks, Jordan said.
     
    Obama is proposing to abolish the current formula for the cap and tie the reimbursement cap to the president's $400,000 a year salary and apply it across-the-board to all defense and civilian cost-reimbursement contracts, Jordan said. Read full article.

     

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    Jun 5, 2013

    The U.S. Small Business Administration's Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program helps small businesses gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities.  The shaded area on the map below is the Leesburg HUBZone - the only HUBZone in Loudoun County.

    Map of Leesburg HUB Zone

    To qualify for the HUBZone program, a business must meet the following criteria:

    • It must be a small business by SBA standards
    • It must be owned and controlled at least 51% by U.S. citizens
    • Its principal office must be located in a designated HUBZone
    • At least 35% of its employees must reside in a HUBZone

    Benefits of the HUBZone Program include:

    • Competitive and sole source contracting
    • 10% price evaluation preference in full and open contract competitions, as well as subcontracting opportunities.

    Reference Article.

    Is your company eligible for HUBZone?  Contact us for assistance. 

     

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    Jun 7, 2013

    DoD, GSA, and NASA are proposing to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a uniform Procurement Instrument Identification (PIID) numbering system, which will require the use of Activity Address Codes (AACs) as the unique identifier for contracting offices and other offices, in order to standardize procurement transactions across the Federal Government. This proposed rule continues and strengthens efforts at standardization accomplished under a previous FAR case.  Reference Article.
     

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    Jun 10, 2013
    June 10, 2013
    In honor of Loudoun County’s Small Business Week 2013, GovPartners, LLC has been recognized by the Department of Economic Development for its excellence as a thriving small business. Supervisor Volpe met with GovPartners’ CEO, Cynthia Karnik, to present her with the award.

    “We are delighted and honored to be recognized by the department for our accomplishments,” said GovPartners’ CEO Cynthia Karnik. “It is a pleasure to provide assistance and support to the needs required by small and large businesses. Our experienced and dedicated team continues to grow as we strive to provide the best possible service for our clients.”
     
    Founded in 2009, GovPartners —a Virginia certified Small Woman and Minority (SWaM) owned business, and certified Woman Owned Small Business (WOSB)— supports the needs of commercial businesses that request assistance with capture and proposal management, GSA supply schedules, contract management/administration, and formulating contractor teaming agreements with approved government contractors. GovPartners offers acquisition management and support services to government agencies at the federal, state, and local levels; also holding a GSA MOBIS schedule, Contract # GS-10F-0369Y. Read more about GovPartners at http://www.govpartners.com
     
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    Jun 25, 2013

    ASHBURN, VA — As the festivities come to a close, small business leaders return home to put what they have learned into practice. From June 17th to the 21st, small business employees and entrepreneurs traveled from across the country to participate in the 50th anniversary of National Small Business Week.

    National Small Business Week is a major event held annually for all existing and potential (future) small businesses, as the Small Business Administration (SBA) dedicates an entire week to celebrating and educating small businesses and their entrepreneurs.

    Throughout the week, small businesses had the opportunity to learn from seminars, gain advice from successful entrepreneurs and business leaders, attend informational workshops, and were given the chance to participate in hands-on experience led by experts in the field. The Small Business Administration (SBA) conducts this week-long culmination of events every year with the goal of educating people on the importance of small businesses, as well as assisting these businesses (present and future) to be successful.

    For a promising end to the celebration, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced on Friday June 21, that the National Prime Contractor of the Year and National Subcontractor of the Year were awarded to a service-disabled veteran-owned small business contractor and to a woman-owned mapping technology company, (source: www.sba.gov).

    “When federal contracts get into the hands of small businesses, it is a win-win for the federal government, small businesses, the economy and the job market,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “The federal government awarded nearly $100 billion in federal contracts to small business like the ones being honored today. These businesses and the industry leaders who contract with small businesses help boost the nation’s economy and they are stellar models of how to successfully navigate the federal contracting arena.”
    (Source: http://www.sba.gov/about-sba-services/7367/680421)

    The main events were held in Seattle, Washington (June 17th); Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas (June 18th); St. Louis, Missouri (June 19th); Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (June 20th); and Washington, D.C. (June 21st). With the exception of St. Louis, all of these events were sold out. Small business gathered their forces and came together to help educate each other in hopes of learning and growing for the future. People who could not attend the events could access a live stream, as well as media/news articles and coverage, on the SBA official website. More information about the events, awards, and news throughout National Small Business Week, can be found at http://www.sba.gov/nsbw/.
    25 June 2013 -- Written By: Christine Ray
     

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