The blog Government Contracts Insights has published a series of posts (4 total) specific to federal government contracting as a minority-owned small business. You can find links to the four posts below:
2 men stole minority businesses’ IDs to get public contracts
Authorities say two upstate New York contractors used the stolen identities of two minority-owned businesses to fraudulently obtain public construction contracts worth millions of dollars.
The state inspector general, attorney general and labor commissioner say Tuesday that 47-year-old Michael Martin and 52-year-old D. Scott Henzel have been indicted on charges that include identity theft and scheme to defraud.
Authorities say the two Albany-area men ran a now-defunct contracting company that took over two minority-owned businesses and used those businesses to land millions of dollars in public works projects.
Keep reading this article at: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article215022305.html
DoD awards more than $230 billion to minority- and women-owned businesses from 2010-2016
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently released a report (GAO-18-195R) reviewing the number and types of DoD contracts awarded to minority-owned and women-owned businesses.
The good news for minority- and women-owned contractors is DoD obligated more than $230 billion from FY 2010-2016. These obligated amounts were awarded through almost 444,500 contracts.
While DoD’s obligations decreased by 12 percent over this time, from more than $36 billion to almost $32 billion, this decrease was significantly less than the approximately 27 percent decrease in overall DoD contract obligations for the same period.
The obligated amounts cover both products and services, but services dominate, constituting approximately 75 percent of the awarded dollars. More than 80 percent of the awards were fixed-price contracts, with the remaining awards being cost-reimbursement, and time-and-materials/labor-hour contracts. The top product was information technology software more than $3 billion, while the top service was professional engineering and technical support more than $14 billion.
2nd MBE manufacturers summit to be held at Georgia Tech in August
The national Minority Business Enterprise Manufacturer’s Summit is returning to Atlanta on August 15 & 16, 2017.
Held at Georgia Tech’s Global Learning Center, this two-day event has grown into a hub for leading Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) manufacturers to convene.
More than 200 attendees from the manufacturing community from 19 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. attended last year’s summit and that number is expected to increase at this year’s event.
Agenda
DAY 1: Social & Networking Reception – August 15, 2017
Be a part of the industry’s most powerful gathering of MBE manufacturers, innovators, leaders, and entrepreneurs shaping and transforming manufacturing through technology today. Share stories, recognize and celebrate your peers – form valuable connections that will last a lifetime. Come join your colleagues for cocktails, networking and thought leadership.
- Gathering Spot 384 Northyards Boulevard, NW; Building 100, Atlanta, GA 30313
- Reception Time: 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Day 2: National MBE Manufacturers Summit 2017, August 16, 2017
Georgia Tech Global Learning Center 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM.
Registraion/Networking and Breakfast
- Welcome: Chris Downing, Vice President, Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute
- Opening Keynote: Theresa Carrington, CEO of The Blessing Basket Project as well as trademark symbol.
Relationship Building Sessions
Sessions:
- Connecting MBE Manufacturers Together for Opportunities.
- Building a Smart Factory – Industry 4.0
- Building a Compititive Workforce
Luncheon Keynote
- Steve Voorhees, CEO of WestRock
Innovation Pods
- Featuring the Latest Trends in Innovation and Technology.
Fast Pitch One-On-One Meetings
- With Corporations and OEMs.
Poster Walk
- Featuring MBE Manufacturers.
Registration and More Information
Please visit: http://mbemanufacturersummit.com/index.html#home
Sponsors:
WWE’s McMahon still standing after positive confirmation hearing for SBA role
An advocate for the underdog is what small businesses can expect if Linda McMahon is confirmed as the Small Business Administration’s new leader.
McMahon is President Donald Trump’s pick for SBA administrator, and she is perhaps most famous as a founder and CEO for the WWE — her daughter and son-in-law, both professional wrestlers, sat in the audience behind her at her Jan. 24 confirmation hearing
During her appearance before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, McMahon pledged her support to level the playing field for women, service-disabled veterans and minority small business owners looking to contract with the federal government.
Asked by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) about how she planned to work with federal agencies to increase small business opportunities for contracts, McMahon said her first step would be to understand the projects themselves, then find the best fit and helping hand for a particular business.
Keep reading this article at: http://federalnewsradio.com/management/2017/01/wwes-mcmahon-still-standing-positive-confirmation-hearing-sba-role/
Here’s a summary of the changes in government contracting provisions of the NDAA
The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed into law on Dec. 23, 2016, contains at least 16 changes to federal procurement policy, many directly affecting the interests of small businesses.
Ever since the NDAA was finalized, attorney Steve Koprince and his team at Koprince Law LLC have been analyzing and summarizing each of the changes. Here’s s list of their blog posts, each one hyperlinked to the article:
- SDVOSB Programs: 2017 NDAA Sharply Curtails VA’s Authority. (Dec. 5, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Restricts DoD’s Use of LPTA Procedures. (Dec. 7, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Extends SBIR & STTR Programs For Five Years. (Dec. 8, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Authorizes $250 Million For New Small Business Prototyping Program. (Dec. 8, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Increases DoD’s Micro-Purchase Threshold To $5,000. (Dec. 9, 2016).
- SDVOSB Programs: 2017 NDAA Modifies Ownership & Control Criteria. (Dec. 12, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Strengthens Subcontracting Plan Enforcement. (Dec. 13, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Requires GAO Report On Minority And WOSB Contract Awards. (Dec. 13, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Requires Report On Bid Protest Impact At DoD. (Dec. 14, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Restores GAO’s Task Order Jurisdiction – But Ups DoD Threshold. (Dec. 14, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Requires “Brand Name Or Equivalent” Justifications. (Dec. 19, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Establishes Preference For DoD Fixed-Price Contracts. (Dec. 21, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Creates Pilot Program For Subcontractors To Receive Past Performance Ratings. (Dec. 21, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Reiterates GAO Bid Protest Reporting Requirements. (Dec. 30, 2016).
- 2017 NDAA Requires Report on Indefinite Delivery Contracts. (Jan. 4, 2017).
- Cost/Price Evaluation To Be Discretionary For Some DoD IDIQs. (Jan. 6, 2017).
For more information, visit: http://smallgovcon.com
TSA buyers reach out to minority small business contractors
Program managers at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tend to look to large companies when shopping for goods and services, Latetia Henderson, assistant administrator of TSA’s Office of Acquisition, told an industry day gathering on Tuesday. “We struggle to get them to understand small businesses.”
Mingling with 26 small business contracting firms attending the Contract Connections town hall at TSA headquarters in Arlington, VA, Henderson and top Homeland Security procurement officials stressed their commitment to buying products from small businesses for “the crux of what TSA does” in the field, such as explosive trace detection, intermodal training and call centers.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/contracting/2016/08/tsa-buyers-reach-out-minority-small-business-contractors/130989
U.S. Commerce Department awards 5-year grant to MBDA Business Center-Atlanta
The U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) named Georgia Tech Research Corp. as a grant recipient to continue to operate an MBDA Business Center in Atlanta.
The federal funding will be distributed during a five-year period that ends in 2021. The funding amount per year is $298,255 for a total of $1.49 million.
The grant program is designed to help minority-owned firms across the nation create jobs, develop their business, and compete in the global economy.
“We are extremely pleased and honored the U.S. Department of Commerce has renewed our funding for another five-year term,” said Donna Ennis, director of the MBDA Business Center-Atlanta. “Our team has been busy working with businesses across Georgia and the Southeast helping to build not only the strength of minority-owned businesses, but the state’s and region’s economy as a whole.”
A key component of MBDA’s Business Center Network is providing minority firms with access to technical expertise and resources to grow their businesses.
In the five-year period ending in 2015, MBDA Business Center-Atlanta helped 462 minority-owned businesses:
- secure more than $577 million in contracts and procurement
- access $177 million in capital
- create or save 4,987 jobs
Ennis leads the MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Working Group, which is building a nationwide community of Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) manufacturers through its national network of 44 MBDA Business Centers. As part of that initiative, she launched the Connecting Advanced Manufacturing Program (CAMP) focused on providing contracting opportunities; assistance with launching new technologies, and building a nationwide ecosystem of MBE manufacturers. That led to the National MBE Manufacturers Summit 2016 at Georgia Tech this past March 24.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Business Owners, minority-owned firms in the United States increased to 8 million in 2012 from 5.8 million in 2007. Those 8 million businesses employed 7.2 million Americans.
In Georgia, there are 371,588 minority-owned firms that contribute more than $38.4 billion annually in economic output. These firms employ more than 202,000 Georgians.
Since 2009, MBDA Business Centers have assisted minority firms with gaining access to more than $31 billion in capital and contracts, while creating and retaining nearly 142,000 jobs.
About the MBDA Business Center-Atlanta
Established in 2004 and part of the Georgia Institute of Technology, the MBDA Business Center-Atlanta is a member of the national network of the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency. The MBDA Business Center-Atlanta provides business and technical assistance to help emerging and existing minority business enterprises achieve significant growth and sustainability and create long-term economic impact through increased jobs and revenue.
Governments struggle to root out fake minority contractors
Margie Sollinger knew something wasn’t right about the companies doing business with Portland, Oregon. As the city’s ombudsman, Sollinger had for some time been hearing from business owners about fraud in the city’s minority- and women-owned contracting program. But it wasn’t until she received a specific complaint in 2013 — about a certified minority-owned construction firm doing work for Portland’s housing authority — that she decided to take action. According to the complaint, the firm was merely acting as a pass-through, winning valuable city contracts and then subcontracting the work out to non-minority companies.
Like many cities and states, Portland has a program allowing it to give special consideration to women- and minority-owned companies when handing out government contracts. The goal, of course, is to help support traditionally disadvantaged companies by giving them a leg up. But as Sollinger began to discover, the city wasn’t necessarily helping the firms it thought it was.
When she first started looking into the housing contract complaint, she wasn’t sure where to turn. “As ombudsman, the most I can really do is make recommendations,” she says. “But even still, I reached a lot of dead ends.” According to state law, the city of Portland wasn’t allowed to take action against minority-owned firms it believed to be fraudulent; those complaints had to be referred to the state. But Sollinger says the state Office of Minority, Women and Emerging Small Businesses initially shrugged her off. So she referred the case to the Oregon Department of Justice, where the investigation continued for nearly two years. Ultimately, the contracting firm was forced to relinquish its minority certification and pay $15,000 to the state. State legislators took an interest in the issue, and last year passed legislation allowing all public agencies in the state to conduct their own investigations into future allegations of minority contract fraud.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.governing.com/topics/mgmt/gov-women-minority-contracting.html
Related: http://www.governing.com/columns/col-problem-with-preferential-bids.html
Diminishing federal contract program has Alaskan Native corporations diversifying
Alaska Native regional corporations are drawing a decreasing amount of their revenue from a controversial government contracting program that gives preferential treatment to minority-owned businesses, financial reports show.
Federal budget cuts, a temporary government shutdown and reform legislation spurred by Congressional critics and government watchdogs has made obtaining contracts through what’s known as the 8(a) program more difficult and costly.
“They see the writing on the wall,” Kim Reitmeier, executive director of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Regional Association, said at a recent Anchorage Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Egan Center. “And so the regional corporations have diversified.”
At Calista Corp., management “continues to take steps to lessen its dependence on government contracting by expanding its investments in real estate,” the company’s 2014 annual report said. Between 2012 and 2014, the majority of Calista’s revenue came from contracts or subcontracts with federal government agencies. Of those contracts, a significant portion came from the 8(a) program.
Total revenue earned through the 8(a) contracting program by the 12 regional corporations, which comprise the membership of the ANCSA Regional Association, was $2.4 billion in 2014, down from $3.6 billion in 2010, the association’s most recent annual report said.
Keep reading this article at: http://www.adn.com/article/20151206/diminishing-federal-contracting-program-has-native-corporations-diversifying
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