Behind the Scenes of the Fight for the Rule of Two (with Lizzie Sullivan)

Lizzie Sullivan has been pushing the Rule of Two through Congress for years now, and this year is the best shot to get that vital rule for small businesses into statutory law, she says. But opposition from an unexpected source has popped up. Sullivan, the president of Madison Services Group, joined me on GovCon Intelligence to discuss the prospect of Congress passing the Rule of Two—which would boost small business set-asides for years to come. We also talked about why 151 is a bad number of IT value-added resellers, the bill that would end the women-owned small business program, and what to expect out of SBA’s size standards. Links Elizabeth Sullivan on LinkedIn:   / esullivanmsgi   Madison Services Group: https://madisonservicesgroup.com/ Women’s Procurement Circle: https://www.procurementcircle.org/ H.R. 2804, Protecting Small Business Competitions Act of 2025: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c... GSA Summary of Results of Request For Information (RFI) about IT hardware procured through Value Added Resellers (VARs): https://buy.gsa.gov/interact/communit... SBA Proposed Rule on Monetary-Based Size Standards: https://www.federalregister.gov/docum... H.R. 7154, Streamlining Small Business Contracts Act of 2026: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c... SBA Proposed Rule on Social Disadvantage in the 8(a) Program: https://www.federalregister.gov/docum... S. 4390, Ending Discrimination in Government Contracting Act: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-c... Federal News Network: “SBA kicks off new audit of economically disadvantaged contractors” https://federalnewsnetwork.com/acquis... Chapters 00:00 - Introduction to GovCon and the Rule of Two 01:28 - The History and Legislative Push for H.R. 2804 03:58 - Understanding the Tolliver Case and Task Orders 05:28 - Bipartisan Support and the NDAA Vehicle 11:15 - Navigating Mandatory Sources and AbilityOne Concerns 14:45 - The Importance of Codifying the Rule of Two 17:35 - GWAC Innovation, Pools, and the Shift in Task Orders 19:26 - The IT Value-Added Reseller (ITVAR) Size Standard Debate 26:05 - The Value of ITVARs vs. Direct Procurement and OneGov 30:46 - The Fight to Raise Sole Source Thresholds 35:50 - The Impact of Compressed Buying Years and Competition 38:54 - Reimagining the OSDBU and the 8(a) Proposed Rule 41:43 - Women-Owned Small Business Entry into the 8(a) Program 44:57 - Legislative Threats to Small Business Set-Aside Programs 47:49 - Deconstructing the EDWOSB Audit and Program Origins 52:47 - Overcoming the Scrutiny and Complexity of the WOSB Program 55:18 - Strategies for Capability Statements and Mission Alignment 58:26 - A Plea for Small Business Unity Against Large Competitors 59:41 - Wrapup Please go to http://govconintelligence.com for a full transcript With 20 years of Federal legal experience, Sam Le counsels small businesses through government contracting matters, including bid protests, contract compliance, small business certifications, and procurement disputes. Sam obtained his law degree from the University of Virginia and formerly served as SBA’s director of procurement policy. His website is www.samlelaw.com. This video is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. This episode of GovCon Intelligence was produced by Amelia Delphos.