Is Your Firm Qualified to Meet the Small Business Administration’s More Stringent Registration Requirements?

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CSA Federal Government Contracts Management Newsletter

Are you aware that the U.S. Senate recently introduced legislation that would create a cradle-to-the-grave oversight framework of the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) entire contracting portfolio? This wide-ranging legislation, known as the Small Business Contracting Fraud Prevention Act, would begin with the contractor certification process and run all the way through to post-award monitoring. The bill would also increase criminal penalties for companies that fraudulently win small business contracts.

The legislation would give the Government Accountably Office (GAO) and the SBA the mandate to step up monitoring and control efforts to include making unannounced site visits, adopting additional fraud detection tools, and conducting financial and analytical training for their business opportunity specialists. This increased scrutiny is specifically targeted towards small businesses that submit proposals for government contracts under the specific designation of service-disabled veteran owned small business (SDVOSB), woman owned small business (WOSB), small businesses located in a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), or certified minority owned small businesses (8(a)). Each of the companies competing for contracts in these four programs would have to submit documentation representing their status in the Online Representations and Certifications Application (ORCA) database. As a result, your firm should ensure that it is properly registered with SBA, and if you are claiming “Veteran Status”, with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in order to compete for contracts with specific small business designations.

Companies that misrepresent themselves would face criminal punishments and possible suspension or debarment from future contracting opportunities. Violators would be subject to civil penalties under the False Claims Act and be required to repay the government every dollar they received through a contract, grant, or cooperative agreement. Penalties would also be applied to companies that use a subcontractor to perform a higher percentage of work than is allowed by the program's rules.

The bill also lays out significant changes to the framework of many SBA contracting programs. For example, all SDVOSBs would be required to register with the VA’s VetBiz database before competing for contracts; the database is currently mandatory only for companies competing for VA contracts. Within one year, information also would have to be shared between VetBiz and the government-wide Central Contractor Registration (CCR). Once in effect, all contracting officials would be required to check the VA database before awarding a contract under the SDVOSB program.

The importance of being validly registered in the CCR and ORCA along with the SBA and VA (if applicable) to meet these heightened government requirements underscores the necessity of your firm having a proactive contracts management policy which both minimizes risk and ensures compliance with the requirements of each of your company’s government contracts.

To find out more about registering with CCR and ORCA and how your firm may greatly expand its opportunities to successfully compete for specific set-aside contracts within the SBA and VA, please contact CSA at clientresults@csaassociates.com.

About CSA Contracts Management Services

CSA is a professional services firm providing strategic guidance and operational performance solutions to government and commercial clients. CSA contracts management services are provided to federal and federal government contractors to help them prepare, manage, and close out government contracts: CSA services for Federal Government contractors can include RFP compliance reviews, on-going and surge support for contract administration needs, bid protest preparation and contract close out services: For more information about CSA Contract Management services contact CSA at clientresults@csaassociates.com.

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