FCC FCC Subcontracting Plans & Teaming Agreements 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the SBA All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, a protégé firm may have joint ventures with its mentor counted as:
- Small business for any federal prime contract or subcontract (Correct answer)
- Large business if the mentor exceeds the size standard
- A disadvantaged business only if SBA-certified
- An 8(a) participant regardless of the protégé's 8(a) status
Correct answer: Small business for any federal prime contract or subcontract
Under the All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, a mentor-protégé joint venture is treated as a small business for any federal procurement.
Question 2: A contractor's subcontracting plan is incorporated into the contract as a material representation, meaning:
- Failure to comply with the plan constitutes a breach of contract subject to liquidated damages (Correct answer)
- The plan is advisory only and not legally enforceable
- SBA must approve all deviations from the plan before execution
- The CO may waive plan requirements after award without penalty
Correct answer: Failure to comply with the plan constitutes a breach of contract subject to liquidated damages
Because the plan is a material contract representation, non-compliance is a breach that can trigger liquidated damages under FAR 52.219-9.
Question 3: The Summary Subcontract Report (SSR) is submitted:
- Annually by prime contractors with approved subcontracting plans for all contracts with the same agency (Correct answer)
- Monthly for each individual contract with a subcontracting plan
- At contract closeout for the entire period of performance
- Only when subcontracting goals are not met
Correct answer: Annually by prime contractors with approved subcontracting plans for all contracts with the same agency
The SSR is an annual report rolled up across all contracts with a single agency, providing a cumulative small business subcontracting picture.
Question 4: Which clause requires contractors to notify the contracting officer before subcontracting more than a specified percentage of work under a small business set-aside?
- FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting (Correct answer)
- FAR 52.219-9, Small Business Subcontracting Plan
- FAR 52.219-8, Utilization of Small Business Concerns
- FAR 52.244-2, Subcontracts
Correct answer: FAR 52.219-14, Limitations on Subcontracting
FAR 52.219-14 limits how much of the contract work a small business prime may subcontract to non-small businesses to maintain set-aside integrity.
Question 5: In a contractor teaming arrangement (CTA), which party bears primary contractual responsibility to the government for contract performance?
- The prime contractor (Correct answer)
- All team members jointly and severally
- The subcontractor with the most relevant past performance
- SBA, as the guarantor of the teaming agreement
Correct answer: The prime contractor
The prime contractor bears full contractual responsibility to the government; subcontractors are only in privity with the prime.
Question 6: A small business that is a first-tier subcontractor must be paid within how many days after the prime receives payment from the government, per prompt payment rules?
- 30 days (Correct answer)
- 14 days
- 45 days
- 60 days
Correct answer: 30 days
FAR 52.232-40 requires primes to pay small business subcontractors within 30 days of receiving government payment.
FCC FCC Subcontracting Plans & Teaming Agreements 2
Under the SBA All Small Mentor-Protégé Program, a protégé firm may have joint ventures with its mentor counted as: