5 Things You Need to Know About the FY13 National Defense Authorization Act

President Obama recently signed the Fiscal Year 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which appropriates funds for military activities of the Department of Defense and other national security programs. You may be asking yourself, “Why am I reading about national security on the SBA website”  Well, if you’re a small business and are doing business with the government, the NDAA includes a number of provisions that impact you. That’s why we thought it would be beneficial to highlight the top five things small businesses should know about the FY13 NDAA.

1. Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Program: Removes the award caps ($6.5M and $4M) from set-asides under the Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Program. For more on the updated rules, see our recent press release. (Section 1697)
    
2. Mentor Protégé Program: Establishes a Mentor Protégé Program modeled after the 8(a) Mentor Protégé Program for all small businesses. (Section 1641)
    
3. Surety Bond Limits: Raises the SBA guaranteed surety bond limits from $2 million to $6.5 million, and allows for bonds up to $10 million on federal contracts if the contracting officer certifies that the surety is needed for award of the contract. The increased caps will allow small businesses to compete for more contracting opportunities with limited risk to the taxpayer. (Section 1695)
    
4. Senior Executives: Requires that agency heads ensure members of the Senior Executive Services (Senior Leadership) receive training with respect to Federal acquisition requirements, including training requirements under the Small Business Act. The law also requires that the head of each respective agency take steps to ensure that members of the SES are held accountable to meeting small business contracting goals. (Section 1633)
    
5. Small Business Contracting Requirements Training: Requires the Defense Acquisition University and the Federal Acquisition Institute establish a mandatory course on small business contracting in order for members of the federal acquisition workforce to get certified in contracting. (Section 1622)

About the Author

John Shoraka is the Associate Administrator for Government Contracting and Business Development at the U.S. Small Business Administration.