http://www.airforcesmallbiz.org/rss The latest headlines from Air Force Small Business. en-us Thu, 2 Sep 2010 16:29:37 GMT Thu, 2 Sep 2010 16:29:37 webmaster@airforcesmallbiz.org http://www.airforcesmallbiz.org/images/masthead-logo.png http://www.airforcesmallbiz.org Small businesses nationwide won a record $96.8 billion in federal contracts last year, an increase of more than $3 billion over fiscal 2008, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration's most recent scorecard. However, it still wasn't enough to reach a goal set by Congress. Small business contracts accounted for 21.9 percent of federal spending last year up from 21.5 percent the year before. Congress set a goal of 23 percent goal. Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT Alaska native corporations and Indian tribes soon will have an opportunity to voice concerns about a new law requiring closer scrutiny of noncompetitive contracts, which some fear will unfairly affect their businesses. The sole-source provision became law when President Obama signed fiscal the 2010 Defense Authorization Act in October 2009. Despite an April 2010 deadline, the law has yet to take effect pending input from Native American stakeholders. The regulatory change could have serious implications for tribes, native Hawaiian organizations and Alaska native corporations operating in the Small Business Administration's 8(a) business development program. Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT The No. 1 information technology conference in the Air Force will be bringing back its popular sessions designed with small businesses in mind. The Air Force Information Technology Conference 2010, scheduled to run Aug. 30 - Sept. 2 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center in Montgomery, will feature keynote speakers, town hall meetings and match-making sessions specifically designed to highlight small business. The small business portion of AFITC 2010 will feature keynote briefer Mary Reynolds, director of policy for the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Small Business Programs. Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT A new Federal Claims Court ruling will give Guam small businesses a better shot at competing for federal contracts. The case attorney John Thomas Brown refers to involves DGR Associates Inc., which successfully challenged the Air Force's selection of a small business contractor for a military family housing maintenance services contract at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska. DGR contended the Air Force violated the Small Business Act by not giving priority to HUBZone small businesses when there is a reasonable expectation that two or more such concerns would submit offers, and that the award could be made at a fair market price, according to the appeals court. Tue, 24 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT A U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge has held that small businesses in the HUBZone program must get the first opportunity to bid on a contract. In an opinion released Aug. 13, Judge Thomas Wheeler ordered the Air Force to end its contract with General Trade and Services Inc. because officials did not first set aside the work for companies in the Small Business Administration’s HUBZone program when at least two would have bid fair prices on the work. The law requires that agencies attempt to find two or more qualified HUBZone small businesses that could bid on a set-aside contract before turning to another small-business program. Fri, 20 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT Small business owners in the Miami Valley are asking a local Congressman for help to boost their business. However, business owners do not want a hand out, they want the federal government to get out of the way. “The biggest concern is that we need to turn this country around in the way of doing business. Instead of growing government and instead of thinking that’s the answer to fixing our economy. In Washington, we need to have less government and be focused on helping small business in this difficult time period,” Austria said. Another local effort is under way to boost the economy. They are trying to get more Miami Valley businesses involved in supplying goods and services to different missions at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Thu, 19 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT In 1994 Congress passed the Equity in Contracting for Women Act to give women-owned businesses more traction getting federal contracts. That program was never implemented. Disagreements, including a lawsuit, held it up, and advocates for the businesses accused federal officials of foot-dragging. Recently, however, there has been new hope. New rules for a Small Business Administration program to get contracts to women-owned businesses are going through final review by the agency. Karen Mills, head of the SBA, told a congressional committee last month that it's almost ready to go live. Mon, 16 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT The Small Business Administration (SBA) has instituted several new programs to address instances of ineligible companies being granted government contracts through its HUBZone program. The new efforts to more effectively manage HUBZone, under which government contracts are awarded to historically underutilized business zones in economically distressed communities, are a result of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report last month in which the SBA was found to have allowed ineligible firms to participate in the HUBZone program. It was the most recent of several reports by the GAO issued during an ongoing investigation of the SBA’s HUBZone certification process. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT For the second time this year, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims has ruled that companies operating in Historically Underutilized Business Zones must have top priority among small businesses when competing for government contracts. On Friday, the Court of Federal Claims found the Air Force violated the 1953 Small Business Act when it failed to first consider DGR Associates Inc., a HUBZone firm, before awarding a contract to an 8(a) small business. The ruling is the latest blow to the Justice Department and Small Business Administration as they attempt to navigate an increasingly complex regulatory issue that has divided the small business contracting community. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT A new Government Accountability Office report says it's shockingly easy to get the Small Business Administration to grant HUBZone certification, making a business eligible for the billions of federal contract dollars awarded to firms in Historically Underutilized Business Zones. The government last year awarded $66 million in federal contracts to 29 companies identified in previous audits as wrongly participating in the program. To qualify for the program, companies must be located in a distressed or disadvantaged neighborhood, and must meet the government's definition of a small business, which varies by industry. In addition, 35 percent of the company's employees must live in the zone. Last year nearly $3 billion in contracts was awarded to companies participating in the program. Wed, 11 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT