“Breaking into the federal government contracting marketplace can be challenging, and many small businesses choose to start as subcontractors. But when those companies later bid on prime contracts, they sometimes find that they cannot get past performance reviews for their subcontract work, or that the government won’t consider such reviews.”
“Now, Congress has stepped in. A provision in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act will require large prime contractors to provide small businesses with past performance reviews in certain cases, and will require agencies to consider them.”
“Section 868 of the 2021 NDAA allows certain small businesses to claim past performance credit for work performed as part of a joint venture–a change we recently covered here on SmallGovCon. But Section 868 also includes a separate paragraph entitled ‘Past Performance Ratings of First-Tier Small Business Subcontractors.’”
“Under the 2021 NDAA, when a first-tier subcontractor (that is, a subcontractor with a direct contractual relationship with the prime) performs work under a so-called covered contract,’ the subcontractor is entitled to request a past performance review from the prime. (A ‘covered contract’ is simply one in which the prime is required to develop a subcontracting plan–meaning that the reach of the 2021 NDAA is effectively limited to large primes).”
“The 2021 NDAA requires large primes to provide past performance reviews…”
“The 2021 NDAA has passed both House and Senate, but is under a veto threat. Congress may have the votes to override the veto, but even if the bill is amended to accommodate the President, Section 868 appears very likely to become law, as the President’s concerns are unrelated to Section 868 or the 2021 NDAA’s other small business provisions…” Read the full article here.
Source: Congress Requires Large Primes to Provide Past Performance Reviews to Small Subcontractors–And Agencies to Consider Them – By Steven Koprince, December 23, 2020. LinkedIn.
