SmallGovCon
Small business federal contracting commentary.
SmallGovCon Week In Review: April 6 – April 10, 2020
Here at SmallGovCon, we’re working to keep our readers informed of the rapidly changing situation involving COVID-19 and how federal contractors can adapt and thrive in meeting the federal government’s various needs. We’ve also raised some serious questions and provided practical
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 10, 2020
SBA, Can a Foreign-Owned Entity Receive a PPP Loan or What?
Well, we thought we had this figured out. Yet here we are a week later and we keep hearing conflicting reports. The question remains, can a foreign-owned company receive a Paycheck Protection Program loan or not? Let’s try to figure it out. Last week, on the eve of the program go
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 9, 2020
Paycheck Protection Program: Is it Helping Small Businesses?
The title of this post is a touch misleading. Of course the Paycheck Protection Program is helping small businesses. But is it helping the right ones, and is it helping enough of them? My colleague Matt Moriarty’s post last week on the Paycheck Protection Program elicited a lot o
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 9, 2020
SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program: What’s Going On with Affiliation?
Since the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program went into effect last Friday, there has been considerable confusion about eligibility and, in particular, what affiliation rules apply to program applicants. The affiliation rules are important for helping companies determine if they ca
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 8, 2020
YouTube Tuesday: Federal Government Spending on AI Intended to Go Up in 2020
According to reports, there is a great potential for increased government spending on Artificial Intelligence this year. Check out the video below to learn more about what this trend means for federal contracting in 2020: View the full article
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 7, 2020
Government Retail Therapy: Congress Removes Cap on OTA for Public Health Emergencies
In an effort to combat the spread of COVID-19, Congress is seeking to eliminate some red tape surrounding biomedical research and development. Specifically, Congress has removed approval requirements on specific transitions to support advanced research and development initiatives
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 7, 2020
SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program Expanded for COVID-19 Disaster
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act created the Paycheck Protection Program as one tool to help small businesses. But it also provided for additional emergency funds under the SBA’s existing Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Congress appropr
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 3, 2020
SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 30 – April 3, 2020
This past week, SmallGovCon continued to provide important updates and insights related to how federal contractors can prepare and support their business during this unprecedented response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because we’ve provided a lot of information, I’ve summarized what
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 3, 2020
Can Foreign-Owned Entities Receive Paycheck Protection Program Funds or Not?
Based on the text of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the fact that a company has foreign owners shouldn’t necessarily disqualify it from participating in the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). But the form used to apply says otherwise. A company se
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 2, 2020
Defense Department Provides COVID-19 Guidance
Last week, John Mattox wrote of OMB’s guidance to contracting officers in dealing with the extraordinary challenges caused by COVID-19. Among other things, OMB instructed agencies to be flexible in providing extensions on performance deadline and encouraged open communication wit
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 2, 2020
Client Spotlight: Penn Parking Fights COVID-19 by Making Face Shields
When you are a business that manages parking lots and garages and then suddenly out of the blue the entire country stops leaving the house, well, you’d be excused for some despair. But that’s not what Penn Parking, Inc., did. Instead, it decided to help. It is making face shields
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 2, 2020
Paycheck Protection Program under the CARES Act: Keeping Small Business Workers Employed
In the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Congress appropriated $349 billion for loans to small businesses. These loans, issued under the Paycheck Protection Program, are aimed at helping small businesses keep their workers on payroll by providing loans,
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 1, 2020
DoD Warns Contractors to be Wary of Adversarial Investments during Pandemic
DoD’s Acquisition and Sustainment Leaders recently updated the public on DoD’s COVID-19 acquisition policy at the Pentagon and announced a joint task force to handle the influx in medical and personal protective equipment needs. One of DoD’s primary points of focus during this co
Koprince Law LLC · Apr 1, 2020
YouTube Tuesday: What Small Business Government Contractors Should Know about the Buy American Act
The Buy American Act is an important domestic preference statute applicable to many U.S. Government procurements. Despite COVID-19, we have not seen any blanket suspension or waiver of this law. So, it’s worth understanding the statute’s basic requirements. Watch the video below
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 31, 2020
Raising the Roofs . . . and Floors: Acquisition Thresholds in the Time of Emergency
As many contractors have heard, the President declared a state of emergency under the Stafford Act. What will this mean for acquisitions conducted while the COVID-19 emergency continues? In this post, I’ll dig into some contractor-specific effects of that declaration: modifying t
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 31, 2020
Winding Down: COVID-19 Work Stoppages & Suspensions
Many contractors are facing work stoppages or suspensions because of COVID-19—especially where working from home is not feasible. This blog post aims to provide a little bit of clarity about work stoppages, suspensions, and the FAR’s excusable delays provision. Government agencie
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 30, 2020
SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 23 – March 27, 2020
This week, the attorney-authors at SmallGovCon have provided recommendations, tips, and updates on how contractors can deal with the effects of COVID-19 on their work. In this week in review, I’ve highlighted some of those updates in case readers might have missed them. But I’m a
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 27, 2020
SmallGovCon Week In Review: March 23 – March 27, 2020
This week, the attorney-authors at SmallGovCon have provided recommendations, tips, and updates on how contractors can deal with the effects of COVID-19 on their work. In this week in review, I’ve highlighted some of those updates in case readers might have missed them. But I’m a
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 27, 2020
Dealing with Contract Alterations and Modifications Due to COVID-19
There are many questions facing contractors during this time of upheaval from the coronavirus and the impact on the federal government’s role buying from federal contractors. We’ll try to address as many of them as we can through our COVID-19 Contractors’ Toolkit. One of the bigg
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 26, 2020
Dealing with Contract Alterations and Modifications Due to COVID-19
There are many questions facing contractors during this time of upheaval from the coronavirus and the impact on the federal government’s role buying from federal contractors. We’ll try to address as many of them as we can through our COVID-19 Contractors’ Toolkit. One of the bigg
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 26, 2020
President Invokes Stafford Act: What that Means for Federal Contractors
Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121-5207), or more commonly the “Stafford Act,” the President can declare an “emergency” or, if the incident is more serious, a “major disaster.” These declarations, among other things, give fed
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 26, 2020
President Invokes Stafford Act: What that Means for Federal Contractors
Under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121-5207), or more commonly the “Stafford Act,” the President can declare an “emergency” or, if the incident is more serious, a “major disaster.” These declarations, among other things, give fed
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 26, 2020
COVID-19 & SBA 8(a) Program Suspensions: FAQs
If you are a government contractor participating in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program, there is a good chance you received an email this week about COVID-19 and the SBA’s 8(a) suspension authority. What is this authority and, more importantly,
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 26, 2020
COVID-19 & SBA 8(a) Program Suspensions: FAQs
If you are a government contractor participating in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program, there is a good chance you received an email this week about COVID-19 and the SBA’s 8(a) suspension authority. What is this authority and, more importantly,
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 26, 2020
Sole-Source Options for Agencies During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The current COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the federal government to take drastic measures. It has altered many aspects of federal contracting for contractors and agencies alike. During these trying times, agencies also have the authority to streamline some contracting procedures
Koprince Law LLC · Mar 25, 2020