3rd Annual Congressman Morelle & County Executive Adam Bello Government Contracting Forum & Matchmaker

Summary of the 2023 Cyber Strategy

The Department made public an unclassified summary of that strategy which reveals a new emphasis on helping U.S. partners and allies build their own cyber capacity. 

The United States DoD explained the need for more collaboration between the DoD and the private sector to address cyber threats during discussions with government and private sector technology. “The strategy comprises four high-level goals: zero trust enablement, technology acceleration, cultural adoption and security and defense of their information systems,” Beavers said, acknowledging that this can only be solved with broad participation. “It’s a journey that we have to go on together.”

Read it here

Read the Summary

CHIPS and Science Act Award to Accelerate Lab-to-Fab Transition

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced the award of $238 million in "Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act" funding for the establishment of eight Microelectronics Commons (Commons) regional innovation hubs.

Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH)
Awardee: The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY)
Hub Lead State: New York
FY23 Award:  $40.0 M
51 Hub members

Those who are interested in contributing their capabilities in support of the Microelectronics Commons program must join a Hub.

Sign Up Here

Read The News Release Here

This section highlights items of special interest and importance to the Department of Defense Office of Small Business Programs (DOD OSBP). Please take a moment to visit the sites listed below for additional information. We also suggest you read the latest edition of the DoD’s Small Business Digest if you want to do business with the Department of Defense.

October is Cybersecurity Month!

CMMC / Cybersecurity Compliance Resources
DoD CMMC Resource Page - Resources to assist government contractors in understanding and complying with CMMC/Cybersecurity requirements.
Project Spectrum - Project Spectrum is working with APEX Accelerators to assist small businesses in achieving compliance with CMMC/Cybersecurity requirements. 

Foreign Ownership, Control and Influence (FOCI) Resources
FOCI Frequently Asked Questions - FOCI is a status or situation in which a contractor with access to classified information has some foreign investment or association with foreign interest. Learn more about the Federal Government’s requirements relating to FOCI. 
https://business.defense.gov/ - The official website of DoD’s Office of Small Business Programs website. It contains additional information, news, events, and other items of interest for those interested (or currently engaged) in doing business with the DoD.

CMMC & FOCI News of Note

CSAF Issues Warning of PLA Recruitment of US Air Force Members, Veterans 
The Air Force’s Chief of Staff has issued a “stark warning” about attempts by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to recruit Air Force members and veterans. 

• Started at REDCOM in 2017
• Responsible for Strategy Development, and led efforts to transform the company to one focused on C2 (command and control) and interoperability.
• Went on to implement a government-focused business development effort and team that has led to multiple new contracts and the recent IDIQ.
• Prior to joining REDCOM, served in the U.S. Marine Corps where he commanded units at various levels and completed multiple combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.

• REDCOM began business in 1978 in Fairport, NY. We now operate out of our headquarters in Victor, NY.
• REDCOM specializes in the development of advanced strategic, operational, and tactical command and control communication solutions with a focus on interoperability, flexibility, and ease of use.
• REDCOM’s MIL-spec products are optimized for low size, weight, and power (SWaP), making them the ideal communications core for deployments to the tactical edge.
• Our C2 software Sigma® is already fielded with the U.S. Army and U.S Air Force, delivering voice, video, chat, and transcoding in one lightweight software instance. Our latest innovation, Sigma® XRI, enables effective IP-RF interop and full C2 capabilities in one small form factor platform.
• REDCOM’s customers include all branches of the U.S. military, government agencies, partner nations, public safety organizations, and integrators.
• All REDCOM products are proudly designed, built, and supported in Victor, New York, USA.

• Last month we secured a five-year, $100M IDIQ contract with the U.S. Army
• This contract makes it easy for the Army to purchase the full suite of REDCOM products
• This contract supersedes a 2020 contract with the U.S. Army, which already saw REDCOM Sigma fielded to more than a dozen programs of record, including the Network Integration Technology Enhancement (NITE), Battlefield Video Teleconference (BVTC), Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced (ESB-E), and Multi-domain Task Force (MDTF).
• Essentially, REDCOM software has become the baseline communications platform for the U.S. Army’s at the tactical level

•        Survey link (both English and Spanish): https://arcg.is/1PmbeT
•        To learn more about the Monroe County Climate Action Plan, please visit www.monroecountyclimateaction.com

Department of the Air Force Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Every-Tuesday, SBIR/STTR and Small Business Cybersecurity Ask-Me-Anything
Date: Tuesday, October 3, 10, 17, 24, & 31 (Multiple Dates)
Click here to register

SBA CYBER SUMMIT 2023
Date: Wednesday, October 4, 11, 18, & 25
Time: 12:00 - 5:00 PM
Click here to register

AFVentures Weekly Webinar Series
Date: Thursday, October 5, 12, 19, & 26 
Click here to register

These events are open to small Businesses and government. Attend this weekly webinar hosted every Thursday at 12pm EST to learn about AFVentures Topics and Q&A about our program!

National APEX Day
Date: October 12
Click here to go to our YouTube Channel 

Make sure you are up to date with our most recent trainings on our YouTube Channel

MCFL APEX Accelerator 4th Friday: Becoming SAM Savvy

Date: October 27
Time: 11:00 A.M.
Click Here to Register

New Rule Gives Contractors a Way to Rate the Government

If you are a federal contractor, you’re undoubtedly familiar with the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting system, in which federal agencies assign past performance ratings to contractors. But, perhaps taking a cue from ridesharing apps and other popular services in which performance reviews go “both ways,” a new FAR provision will encourage contractors to provide performance assessments to the government. Read more about this rule here.
 

Read More About the Program Here

DOE Removes Requirement for “Continuous” SAM Registration

In the July newsletter, we highlighted a federal court decision in which a contractor lost an award because the contractor’s System for Award Management (SAM) registration lapsed – that is, became temporarily inactive – between the date the contractor submitted its proposal and the date of contract award. According to the court, this lapse violated FAR 52.204-7, which requires a contractor to continuously maintain an active SAM registration between the proposal and award dates. Now, the Department of Energy has issued a FAR deviation to remove the continuous registration requirement. However, the DOE’s deviation doesn’t apply outside of the DOE. 


SBA Releases New Small Business Award Data Hub

The SBA has released a new web application that allows users to easily review a great deal of information about the government’s small business awards. Called the “Small Business Data HUB,” this application is free and easy to use. Through the application, users can quickly obtain breakdowns of federal small business spending by socioeconomic category (all small businesses, 8(a), women-owned small businesses, and so on), by state, by agency and funding office, and more.  visit the Small Business Data HUB

Can a Federal Contractor Propose a “Too Low” Price?

In the world of federal government contracting, it’s not uncommon for an offeror to lose a competition to a lower-priced competitor. But what if the winning offeror’s price is lower than its cost to perform the work? Contrary to popular belief, when it comes to fixed-price contracts, it’s often perfectly acceptable to propose a below-cost price.

The government uses many methods to establish the amount paid to a contractor, but one of the most common methods is called “firm fixed price.” A firm fixed-price contract, as defined in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 16.202-1 “provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the contractor’s cost experience in performing the contract.” 

While the rule against adjustments to an “FFP” contract is not quite as ironclad as it sounds (the government, for example, may be liable if the government’s action or inaction increases the contractor’s costs), a FFP contract, per FAR 16.202-1 “places upon the contractor maximum risk and full responsibility for all costs and resulting profit or loss.” In other words, barring any exceptions, the government pays the exact price specified in the contract, regardless of whether the contractor makes an enormous profit or suffers an equally-enormous loss.

Because the government’s risk ordinarily is no different regardless of the contractor’s cost to perform, the government usually has no reason to object if an offeror proposes a seemingly “too low” fixed price – even a fixed price so low that it appears the offeror will suffer a loss. Therefore, when a solicitation seeks a firm, fixed-price contract, the default rule is that there is nothing wrong with proposing a below-cost price. 

In fact, the Government Accountability Office has held that, unless the solicitation states otherwise, a federal agency cannot reject a FFP offer simply because the proposed price appears to be “too low.” In its decisions, the GAO has recognized that there may be viable business reasons to propose a below-cost price. 

For instance, in one extreme example, LCPtracker, Inc.; eMars, Inc., B-410752.3 (2015), the GAO upheld an award to a contractor that pledged to do the work for free, when the next-lowest bidder proposed a price of approximately $450,000. In that case, the winning offeror explained that it felt the $0 bid was worthwhile because obtaining the contract would allow it to access a new market and build new relationships.

While the default rule for FFP solicitations is that “too low” offers are permitted, agencies may vary from the default. If an agency elects, it may choose to evaluate “price realism,” that is, the question of whether an offeror’s proposed price is so low that it makes the offeror’s bid risky and/or calls into question whether the offeror truly understands the scope of work. 

If an agency intends to evaluate price realism under an FFP solicitation, it must advise offerors that it intends to do so. If the agency remains silent, the default rule applies, and the agency may expose itself to a successful bid protest if it eliminates an offeror for proposing a too-low price.