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Federal Circuit Strikes Down DOD Preferences For Minority Contractors As Unconstitutional; Consequences Uncertain CQ Homeland Security E-Verify's Reach to Extend to Federal Contractors - June 2008 U.S. Small Business Administration Posted February 8, 2008 A House Small Business Committee hearing was held this morning to discuss the Small Business Administration’s budget for FY 2009. The sole presenter at the hearing was Administrator Preston who got testy on a few occasions when he was asked repeatedly to justify reducing small business programs when may be critical for helping small businesses during an economic downturn. The SBA will reduce HUBZone, SBDC’s, and the microloan program. They will also be reducing the number of procurement representatives which goes against the SBA’s earlier comments during previous hearings. The microloan program technical assistance will not be a separately funded item, but from what I gather will now be rolled in to the cost of the loans, so as a line item it goes away. He is committed to continue his “operational efficiencies” and lean on technology to do that. No comments on anything to do with Indians. Rule requires contractors to set, follow codes of ethics- A rule recently published in the Federal Register will require that companies must set up a written code of business ethics and conduct before winning federal contracts. http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1107/112907rb1.htm Government Contracts September 17, 2007 BNA House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) hopes to introduce further acquisition-related legislation later this fall, a committee spokesperson confirmed Sept. 12. Although Waxman announced his intention in remarks to a federal contractor group several days earlier, no details are yet available, the spokesperson said. Waxman, who has been a vocal critic of contracting under the Bush administration, is the chief sponsor of a contractor accountability measure (H.R. 1362) passed by the House March 15 in a 347-73 vote. The bill, titled the Accountability in Contracting Act, includes provisions that would place limits on the award of sole-source and emergency sole-source contracts, require agencies to report to Congress contracts when audits identify more than $10 million in questioned contract costs, provide for a study of the government acquisition workforce, and strengthen post-employment restrictions on federal acquisition officials (51 DER A-37, 03/16/07) a0b4d7x0m2 . The bill--which has no direct companion legislation in the Senate--also would require the Office of Government Ethics to report to Congress on the desirability of requiring both federal contractors and federally funded research and development centers to comply with personal financial interest restrictions, and agencies to notify Congress before awarding award of sole-source contracts to certain foreign-owned companies. ........................................................................................................................ (BW)(UCLA-ALASKA-NATIVES-FED) UCLA School of Law Native Nations Law & Policy Center Report Addresses Federal Contracting Policies Benefiting Alaska Native Corporations LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE) UCLA School of Law's Native Nations Law & Policy Center released a research report addressing an issue currently before Congress - whether to continue federal contracting policies that have benefited Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs). "Federal Contracting Support for Alaska Natives' Integration into the Market Economy," written by UCLA Professors Duane Champagne (Sociology) and Carole Goldberg (Law), examines the history and socio-economic conditions of ANCs, and concludes that special federal contracting opportunities are an effective way to promote integration of Alaska Natives into the increasingly globalized market economy. The research report shows that tribal businesses and ANCs take a small portion of government contracts, and confer disproportionate benefits. Although ANCs and tribal businesses have gained an increased share of government contracting over the past five years, that share remains less than one percent of total government contracts. As a sign of increasing American Indian and Alaska Native business capability and commitment, according to the report, in 2005, tribal businesses secured 17.2 percent of section 8(a) Small Business Administration The report shows that the revenues of ANC and tribal business contracting benefit entire communities. Many tribal communities depend on tribal businesses or ANCs for employment, program and local tribal government support. In addition, it states that employment and philanthropy from tribal businesses also significantly benefits non-Indians. Carefully examining the history of federal policy toward Alaska Natives and the current economic and social conditions toward Alaska Native communities, the research report concludes that U.S. government policy should foster market conditions and business enterprise as its central policy to encourage long term economic viability and self-sufficiency among Indian and Alaska Native communities. Many tribes, including Alaska natives as late as 1971, have lost land and resource assets that sustain and benefit the U.S. economy. Alaska Natives suffer the additional disadvantages of extreme cold and isolation. ANCs were created in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 to promote business enterprise and economic self-sufficiency among Alaska Natives. ANCs and tribal businesses are the primary means by which tribal communities will emerge from poverty and gain cultural and governmental self-sufficiency they desire, according to the report. The report concludes that Congressional action to monitor and regulate corporate contracting will help ensure that taxpayer funds are well spent. Greater regulation, oversight and fairness of government contracting procedures are supportable. National policy in support of American Indian and Alaska Native business enterprise development and pathways to economic self-sufficiency, however, should not be sacrificed in the processes of reforming government contracting procedures. About the authors: Duane Champagne is Professor of Sociology at UCLA and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa. He is the author or editor of more than 125 publications including numerous scholarly articles and books in the fields of Sociology and American Indian Studies that examine social and economic change within Native communities. Carole Goldberg is Distinguished Professor of Law at UCLA, where she directs the Joint Degree Program in Law and American Indian Studies. She is the co-author and editor of Cohen's Handbook of Federal Indian Law, as well as author of a teaching casebook and many articles on federal Indian law. Professors Champagne and Goldberg are currently co-principal investigators on a major grant from the National Institute of Justice to study criminal justice in Indian country. About UCLA School of Law: Founded in 1949, UCLA School of Law is the youngest major law school in the nation and has established a tradition of innovation in its approach to teaching, research and scholarship. With approximately 100 faculty and 970 students, the School of Law pioneered clinical teaching, is a leader in interdisciplinary research and training, and is at the forefront of efforts to link research to its effects on society and the legal profession. To read the white paper, go to |
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