The Veterans Affairs Department will decide status protests for all service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and veteran-owned small businesses and not cede that authority to the Small Business Administration, a Sept. 31 interim rule says.
The rule doesn’t change the fact of self-certification for SDVOSB status by companies bidding on contracts at agencies other than the VA.
The VA’s director of the Center for Veterans Enterprise will initially adjudicate all SDVOSB and VOSB status protests, but those businesses can appeal to the VA’s executive director of small and disadvantaged business utilization, the rule says.
The VA says it considered reaching an interagency agreement with the SBA for it to review and decide status protests, but determined that SDVOSB and VOSB status protest adjudication should remain within VA.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.fiercegovernment.com/story/va-sole-decider-sdvosb-status-protest-decisions-rule-says/2013-10-16
See the new interim rule at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-09-30/html/2013-23759.htm
