(a) Section 8(a) of the Small Busines Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)) established a program that authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to enter into all types of contracts with other agencies and award subcontracts for performing those contracts to firms eligible for program participation. The SBA's subcontractors are referred to as 8(a) contractors.
(b) Contracts may be awarded to the SBA for performance by eligible 8(a) firms on either a sole source or competitive basis.
(c) When, acting under the authority of the program, the SBA certifies to an agency that the SBA is competent and responsible to perform a specific contract, the contracting officer is authorized, in the contracting officer's discretion, to award the contract to the SBA based upon mutually agreeable terms and conditions.
(d) The SBA refers to this program as the 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program.
(e) The contracting officer shall comply with 19.203 before deciding to offer an acquisition to a small business concern under the 8(a) Program. For acquisitions above the simplified acquisition threshold, the contracting officer shall consider 8(a) set-asides or sole source awards before considering small business set-asides.
(f) When SBA has delegated its 8(a) Program contract execution authority to an agency, the contracting officer must refer to its agency supplement or other policy directives for appropriate guidance. [54 FR 46005, Oct. 31, 1989, as amended at 63 FR 70272, Dec. 18, 1998; 64 FR 32743, June 17, 1999; 64 FR 51832, Sept. 24, 1999; 69 FR 25278, May 5, 2004; 75 FR 77730, Dec. 13, 2010; 76 FR 14568, Mar. 16, 2011; 77 FR 12932, Mar. 2, 2012; 79 FR 24202, Apr. 29, 2014] 19.801 [Reserved]