Practice Areas
Industry Experience
Mr. Bouquet’s work in the field of government contracts has involved many types of products and services in a wide range of industries.
Reflections on Government Contracts
Vol. XV, No. 1
Fall 2023
Deadline Looms for Small Veteran Owned Government Contractors
Under regulations issued by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) late last year, small veteran owned government contractors can no longer self-certify their eligibility for certain procurement preferences. Prior to the change, to qualify for Department of Veterans Affairs (“DVA”) set-asides, offerors had to obtain certification of their eligibility from the DVA’s Center for Verification and Evaluation (“CVE”). To qualify for set-aside procurements by all other federal agencies, offerors could simply self-certify their eligibility. Under the Rule, the CVE’s eligibility certification responsibilities for DVA procurements were transferred to a new Veteran Small Business Certification Program (“VetCert”) office in the SBA. In addition, all agencies must require offerors to submit proof of certification of their status by the SBA to qualify for a set- aside. The rule has three important transition provisions. First, any small veteran owned contractor verified by the CVE prior to January 1, 2023 will be deemed SBA-certified for the remainder of its three-year eligibility term provided the contractor continues to qualify under the criteria set forth in the regulations. Second, SBA intends to grant a one-time, one-year extension to the eligibility term of current CVE certified contractors. However, any contractors applying for SBA certification that do not have CVE certifications will receive only a three-year eligibility term. Third, the rule gives all contractors that do not have CVE certifications until December 31, 2023 to submit applications for the SBA certifications. If a contractor submits the application to VetCert before the deadline, the contractor can continue to self-certify eligibility until such time as SBA issues the certification. However, if the contractor misses the deadline, they will no longer be able to self-certify. As a result, they will not be able to qualify for the preferences pending SBA’s certification decision.
How to Fight Unfair Treatment by Contracting Officers
The Federal Acquisition Regulation requires federal Contracting Officers (“COs”) to “ensure that contractors receive impartial, fair and equitable treatment.” This requirement is fundamental to our procurement system. COs have vast powers to make determinations and findings that can adversely affect the finances of contractors. When COs treat contractors unfairly, the private sector tends to lose faith in the government as a customer. As a result, excellent companies will stop offering needed products and services to the government or will include in the price of their government contracts appropriate contingencies to account for the risks and costs of such inequities. In either case, the taxpayers lose. In my twenty-five years of practicing government contracts law, I have encountered some COs who, with the support of agency lawyers, will take the time to focus on disputed issues and partner with my clients to develop a fair solution that is in the long-term best interests of the taxpayers and the contractor. However, in too many cases, I have seen COs who do not take this approach. Fortunately, there are a number of ways contractors can fight and even prevent unfair treatment by COs
Biography
Chris Bouquet is an experienced businessman and government contracts lawyer. After college, he spent 11 years as a businessman, first serving as Assistant to the President of a company in Salem, Virginia and later as a Project Manager and Director of Government Operations for a government contractor in McLean, Virginia. While serving as a government contractor, he attended night school and received MBA and JD degrees. After law school, he served for nearly 14 years as a government contracts lawyer in McKenna Long & Aldridge's (MLA’s) Washington, DC office and as a pro bono lawyer for the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless. In 2008, he opened his own law practice in Alexandria, Virginia, so that he could be closer to home, church and community and offer existing and new clients more cost effective access to his expertise. Throughout Mr. Bouquet’s career, he has been devoted to understanding his clients’ needs and providing leadership to develop and implement effective strategies to meet these needs.