FAR Part 6 Rewrite: What It Means for Small Business Set-Asides, Socioeconomic Programs, and the Rule of Two
The recent rewrite of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 6—governing “Competition Requirements”—is prompting questions about whether the changes may signal a shift in federal small business contracting policy . In particular, the removal of explicit references to certain socioeconomic program provisions raises concerns in the small business community. In this blog, PilieroMazza dissects the FAR Part 6 rewrite, concluding that most revisions appear to be structural rather than substantive. However, the unresolved status of the “Rule of Two” continues to raise concerns regarding the protection of small business set-aside opportunities. A. The Rule of Two: Why Statutory Codification Is Essential As most federal contractors are well aware, the FAR Overhaul is well underway, with an overarching goal of eliminating regulations that are not explicitly grounded in statutory authority. While we have yet to see the revised FAR Part 19—which currently houses the “Rule of T...