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Small-Business Contracting Bill Introduced
By Marc Tracy
As the federal government prepares to spend all those stimulus billions, now would seem like an especially ripe time to ensure that small businesses are getting the share of federal contracts that they are legally mandated to win. You might recall that, currently, they don't: because of a 6% error reporting rate, in which ostensible "small business" contracts actually go to large companies, small businesses do not receive 23% of all federal contracts, as the law requires (and furthermore, many individual departments do not meet their quotas either for small-business contracts or women- and minority-owned-business contracts). The group at the forefront of protesting this problem is Lloyd Chapman's American Small Business League, which we've covered extensively.
Well today looks to be a good day for Chapman and the ASBL (and, well, for small businesses). According to a press release they sent us (send us press releases!), a bill that Chapman actually wrote, called the Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act, was submitted today by Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). What the bill would do, mainly, is redefine small businesses such that the subsidiaries of large businesses would no longer apply. Mainly, it would do this by requiring that a business that wins a federal contract be reported as its parent company. If enacted, the change could divert over $100 billion per year to small businesses, Chapman estimates.
“It’s unconscionable that some large corporations are the beneficiaries of SBA contracts,” said Rep. Johnson in a release. “Especially given how many small businesses are struggling in this recession. H.R. 2568 will go a long way in helping correct this egregious error.”
The question of course becomes: where will President Barack Obama stand? Although the ASBL and this issue are generally Democratic, it's worth remembering that Chapman has in the past criticized Obama, alleging that he has turned his back on small businesses by not making better contract procedures a priority and by appointing Karen G. Mills, a venture capitalist, to head the Small Business Administration.
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Comments (0)May 26, 2009 4:59 PM
