SBA, IG disagree on sole-source awards

The Small Business Administration’s inspector general has scolded agency officials in a new report for awarding two sole-source contracts using economic stimulus law money when the administration wanted companies to compete for the funds. The IG also wrote that one contract seemed to be a pass-through contract.

Although the law allows agencies to award sole-source contracts through SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program at times, the contract SBA awarded to Copper River Information Technology LLC did not appear to qualify for a small-business set-aside contract or an 8(a) award, the IG said. It was basically a “pass through” contract to purchase Microsoft software and licenses, Debra Ritt, the SBA's assistant inspector general for auditing, wrote in a report posted online on July 6.

A pass-through contract is an award to a company that does little or nothing to accomplish the work.

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According to the report, Copper River didn’t have the necessary business relationship with Microsoft to purchase the licenses for SBA’s IT project. Instead, SBA sent the key documents directly to Microsoft without Copper River’s involvement, Ritt wrote.

“Ultimately, Copper River did little, if any, discernible value-added work for this procurement,” she wrote.

Company officials were unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, the SBA failed to promote competition by awarding the large sole-source contracts using the stimulus law funds, when Office of Management and Budget officials in 2009 told agencies to have companies compete for the work, Ritt wrote.

In response to the overall report, Darryl Hairston, SBA’s associate administrator of the Office of Management and Administration, said administration officials didn’t prohibit agencies from using small-business programs, such as the SBA’s 8(a) program, to award the stimulus money.

“The sole issue in this matter is whether or not this particular contract was suitable for award through the 8(a) [Business Development] program,” he wrote.

In addition, the IG also said both of the sole-source contracts “appeared to be pushed through the agency, without obtaining the proper signatures and clearance for the acquisition plan,” which SBA requires for contracts. The IG recommended procurements get both senior-level approvals and legal review before award.

Hairston wrote that SBA has such a process in place, but would revise it to note which contracts should, in fact, get legal review.