{
  "id": "R42981",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R42981",
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  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 449324,
      "date": "2016-01-28",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-06T17:22:24.735321",
      "title": "Set-Asides for Small Businesses: Legal Requirements and Issues",
      "summary": "It has long been the \u201cdeclared policy of the Congress\u201d that a \u201cfair proportion\u201d of federal contracts be awarded to small businesses. In support of this policy, Congress has enacted various statutes authorizing procuring agencies to conduct competitions in which only small businesses may compete, or to make noncompetitive (\u201csole-source\u201d) awards to such firms in circumstances when similar awards could not be made to other firms. \nFederal agencies can award contracts to small businesses by several different methods, depending upon the value of the contract and the number of small businesses likely to submit offers, among other factors.\n\u201cSmall purchases\u201d valued at between $3,500 and $150,000 are \u201creserved exclusively\u201d for small businesses and are generally made using simplified acquisition procedures (e.g., purchase orders, blanket purchase agreements), sealed bidding, or contracting by negotiation.\nContracts whose value exceeds $150,000 can be awarded via sealed bidding or contracting by negotiation in competitions in which only small businesses may participate (i.e., \u201ccompetitive set-asides\u201d), so long as the contracting officer reasonably expects offers from at least two small businesses, and the award can be made at fair market price. \nContracts whose value exceeds $150,000 can, in some cases, be entered into by negotiating directly with a small business if the contracting officer does not reasonably expect offers from at least two small businesses. \nAll the foregoing are authorized under the Small Business Act, which permits federal agencies to conduct competitive set-asides for small businesses, as well as for specific types of small businesses (i.e., small disadvantaged businesses (SDBs) participating in the \u201c8(a) Program\u201d (8(a) firms), Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses, women-owned small businesses (WOSBs), and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs)). The Small Business Act also authorizes agencies to make sole-source awards to 8(a) firms, HUBZone small businesses, SDVOSBs, and WOSBs in certain circumstances. In addition, the Veterans Benefits, Health Care, and Information Technology Act of 2006, as amended, grants the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) additional authority to conduct competitive set-asides for, and make sole-source awards to, SDVOSBs and other veteran-owned small businesses (VOSBs).\nSmall business set-asides are of perennial interest to Congress because of their role in effectuating the congressional policy of assisting small businesses. For example, the 112th Congress enacted legislation (P.L. 112-239) that expanded agencies\u2019 authority to conduct competitive set-asides for WOSBs, while the 113th Congress enacted legislation that permits sole-source awards to such businesses (P.L. 113-291). In addition, on February 22, 2016, the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Kingdomware Technologies, Inc. v. United States, a case in which a SDVOSB challenges the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 procurement of certain supplies and services through the Federal Supply Schedules, rather than through a set-aside for SDVOSBs or VOSBs. For more information on this case, see CRS Legal Sidebar WSLG1322, UPDATED: Supreme Court Postpones Oral Arguments in Challenge to the Department of Veterans Affairs\u2019 Practices as to Contracting \u201cSet-Asides\u201d for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses, by Kate M. Manuel.",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 2636,
          "name": "Small Business Policy"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4628,
          "name": "Government Contracts"
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc811071/",
      "id": "R42981_2015Mar09",
      "date": "2015-03-09",
      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
      "title": "Set-Asides for Small Businesses: Legal Requirements and Issues",
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  "topics": [
    "National Defense"
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