How Much Is Enough for Small Business Set-Asides?
Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) 19.502-2 requires that procurements over $100,000 be set-aside exclusively for small business when there is a reasonable expectation that offers will be received from at least two responsible small businesses and award will be made at a fair market price. This is known as the “Rule of 2.” The question is how much must a contracting officer do in order to determine that there are two or more such small businesses? In ViroMed Labs., B-298931, Dec. 20, 2006, 2006 WL 3904357, the Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) explained that the actions must be reasonable. In ViroMed, the contracting officer posted a “sources sought” notice on the FedBizOpps website for HIV testing and reporting services, explaining in detail what was needed. Nine of the respondents were small businesses, and provided the contracting officer with information regarding their capabilities. The contracting officer conducted additional research and queried all respondents regard
