Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and Indian Health Service (IHS) will be hosting a Virtual Business Matchmaking on May 16, 2024. Register now to get an appointment with one of the 85 contracting officers participating and connect your goods and/or services to buyers. For more information on registration, please visit the event webpage.
Some of the Business Categories/NAICS that Buyers are Looking for:
236220 - Commercial and Institutional Building Construction
237110 - Water and Sewer Line and Related Structures Construction
237310 - Highway, Street, and Bridge Construction
541360 - Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services
541611 - Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services
561110 - Office Administrative Services
561621 - Security Systems Services (except Locksmiths)
And many others!
The USET Sovereignty Protection Fund (USET SPF) submitted comments
to the Indian Health Service (IHS) on June 21, 2021 in response to its November 10, 2020 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update its Buy Indian Act regulations. USET SPF’s comments recommended that IHS develop ongoing evaluation mechanisms for implementation of the Buy Indian Act regulations as well as coordination with the Department of the Interior (DOI) since DOI had also initiated its own Tribal consultations to update its Buy Indian Act regulations in June 2021. USET SPF also submitted comments
to DOI on June 25, 2021 in response to Tribal consultations held on proposed revisions to its Buy Indian Act regulations, as well as comments
on December 13, 2021 in response to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking issued by the DOI Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.
IHS announced a Final Rule on revised regulations for implementation of the Buy Indian Act on January 13, 2022. This Final Rule provided IHS with the authority to set-aside procurement contracts for Indian-owned and controlled businesses and supplements the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Department of Health and Human Services Acquisition Regulations (HHSAR). Similarly, the Department of the Interior (DOI) issued a Final Rule on April 8, 2022 to revise regulations for implementing the Buy Indian Act. Under the Final Rule, DOI eliminated the restriction on Indian Economic Enterprises (IEE) from competing on “covered” construction contracts issued under the Buy Indian Act, expanded IEEs’ ability to subcontract work, gave greater preference to IEEs, and updated the process and thresholds for deviations.
For more information on federal procurement, please reach out to USET’s Economic Development Director, Rebecca Naragon, at RNaragon@usetinc.org.
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