The long-awaited interim rule that is supposed to create parity among the Small Business Administration’s myriad preference programs was finally published March 16. Now contracting officers know that HUBZone, 8(a), service-disabled veteran-owned, and women-owned small business programs are equal when considering whether to set aside a competition for any of these four programs. But what happens if a contracting officer wants to set aside a competition for all small businesses?
Prior to the publication of the parity rule, the Federal Acquisition Regulation was silent on whether socioeconomic programs should be considered before creating a set-aside competition for all small businesses. The new rule erases that doubt by adding the following language to the FAR:
“There is no order of precedence among the 8(a) Program (subpart 19.8), HUBZone Program (subpart 19.13), Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Procurement Program (subpart 19.14), or the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program (subpart 19.15). … The contracting officer shall first consider an acquisition for the 8(a), HUBZone, SDVOSB, or WOSB programs before using a small business set-aside.”
Did Congress intend for parity to apply across all small business set-aside opportunities, regardless of whether they’re tied to a socioeconomic program, when it amended the HUBZone statute last year as part of the Small Business Jobs Act? By crafting a rule that specially excludes other small businesses, the FAR Council may have inadvertently created a new form of disparity.
