An official website of the United States Government
Subpart 519.8 - Contracting With the Small Business Administration (The 8(a)Program)
519.803 Selecting acquisitions for the 8(a) program.
519.803-70 Contracting officer evaluation of recommendations for 8(a) set-aside(s).
(a) If the contracting officer disagrees with a recommendation by the AA OSDBU or the SBTA to set aside a procurement for award under the 8(a) program, discuss the matter with the official who made the recommendation.
(b) If the contracting officer decides not to award the contract under the 8(a)program, forward a copy of the documentation required by FAR 19.202-1(e)(4) to the SBTA within 10 working days.
(c) Once a contracting activity acquires a product or service successfully on the basis of an 8(a) set-aside, the activity must acquire all future requirements for that product or service using 8(a) set-aside procedures.
(1) However, the availability of Federal Prison Industries, Inc. and Nonprofit Agencies Employing People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled (AbilityOne), and other mandatory sources, which may not have existed at the time of the original requirement are sufficient reason to discontinue setting aside a continuing requirement.
(2) If the contracting officer determines that acquiring the product or service as an 8(a)set-aside is no longer in the Government’s best interest, use the procedures in FAR 19.506 to withdraw a repetitive set-aside.
519.803-71 Withdrawing or modifying 8(a) set-asides.
If the contracting officer and the SBTA disagree over the withdrawal or modification of a set-aside, the SBTA must notify the AA OSDBU at the same time the matter is referred to the SBA PCR.
519.870 Direct 8(a)contracting.
519.870-1 Authority and applicability.
(a) In accordance with FAR 19.800(f), GSA obtained a delegation from SBA permitting direct 8(a) contracting as documented through GSA’s Partnership Agreement. The current Partnership Agreement can be found on GSA's Acquisition Portal at https://insite.gsa.gov/acquisitionportal.
(b) This authority applies to all 8(a)acquisitions conducted by GSA. It does not apply to the multiple award schedule program.
519.870-2 Contract clauses.
(a)Insert the following clauses in solicitations, contracts, and orders issued under GSA's Partnership Agreement:
(1) 552.219-74, Section 8(a) Direct Award;
(2) 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting; and
(3) 52.219-18, Notification of Competition Limited to Eligible 8(a) Participants, with—
(i)Paragraph (c) of the clause substituted with the following text “(c) Any award resulting from this solicitation will be made directly by the Contracting Officer to the successful 8(a) offeror selected through the evaluation criteria set forth in this solicitation” and
(ii)The text “(DEVIATION)” added after the date of the clause.
(b)Do not insert the following FAR clauses—
(1) 52.219-11, Special 8(a) Contract Conditions;
(2) 52.219-12, Special 8(a) Subcontract Conditions; and
(3) 52.219-17, Section 8(a) Award.
