BASELINE| Post No. 112707-1

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I sincerely hope your thanksgiving holiday was pleasant. Now it’s time to get back to our primary point of focus in the 9^th Congressional District| how to get the most out of our vote for Congressman Al Green.

The background information provided to you under posts number 111507-1, 111907-1, 111907-2, 112207-1, and 112407-1 was to supply some basis for how Congress works. Many of our members know this process, thoroughly; however, to many this is all new.

If our goal is to maximize the utility of our collective vote for the Honorable Al Green; we should first take inventory of what we have and have not done to help ourselves. Congressman Green’s website http://www.house.gov/algreen/ has a link titled “Doing Business with the Federal Government” which has the basic information links useful to most small businesses just getting started.

Please let us know if this information is/has been sufficient for you to obtain traction in positioning your firm for Federal Government contracts. In addition, please share your story.

If you are absolutely satisfied with status quo, we need know. If not, we must know that also. Our goal in this dialogue is to be fair and as objective as we can in our attempt to affect the political landscape to our betterment.

Each day, from now through the primaries, you will have the opportunity to contribute to this dialogue; a summary copy of which will be sent to you all. This dialogue, and those held with many of you discretely, will make up the architecture of agenda.

Once the road to the general election commences, our agenda will have been formalized and will be shared with the political candidates remaining for address.

More to come.

FORMS OF CONGRESSIONAL ACTION |Post No. 112407-1

 

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The work of Congress is initiated by the introduction of a proposal in one of four forms: the bill, the joint resolution, the concurrent resolution, and the simple resolution. The most customary form used in both Houses is the bill.

BILLS

A bill is the form used for most legislation, whether permanent or temporary, general or special, public or private.

The form of a House bill is as follows:

A BILL

For the establishment, etc. [as the title may be].

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, etc.

The enacting clause was prescribed by law in 1871 and is identical in all bills, whether they originate in the House of Representatives or in the Senate.

Bills may originate in either the House of Representatives or the Senate with one notable exception provided in the Constitution. Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution provides that all bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives but that the Senate may propose or concur with amendments.

By tradition, general appropriation bills also originate in the House of Representatives.

There are two types of bills-public and private. A public bill is one that affects the public generally. A bill that affects a specified individual or a private entity rather than the population at large is called a private bill.

A private bill is used for relief in matters such as immigration and naturalization and claims against the United States.

A bill originating in the House of Representatives is designated by the letters ‘‘H.R.” followed by a number that it retains throughout all its parliamentary stages. The letters signify ‘‘House of Representatives” and not, as is sometimes incorrectly assumed, ‘‘House resolution”.

A Senate bill is designated by the letter ‘‘S.” followed by its number. The term ‘‘companion bill” is used to describe a bill introduced in one House of Congress that is similar or identical to a bill introduced in the other House of Congress.

9th Congressional District Staff| Contact Information: Post No. 112207-1

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Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families!

Before we begin our engagement of the Congressman and his staff, we would like to provide you (the 8(a) and small business voter) with the names, titles, and contact information for the Congressman Al Green and his Staff.

In future posts, we will advise you of whom we recommend be contacted in regards to issues and concerns that are relevant to our collective progress. If you do not receive a timely response from the Congressman or his Staff, please let us know.

Houston Office| 3003 South Loop West, ste 460, Houston, Texas 77054

Washington DC| 425 Cannon HOB, Washington DC 20515

• Honorable Al Green| Congressman| al.green@mail.house.gov| H-713.383.9234(o): 713.383.9202(f) |DC-202.225.7508(o): 202.225.2947(f)|
• Jacqueline A. Ellis| Chief of Staff| jacqueline.ellis@mail.house.gov| 202.225.7508(o)
• Oscar T. Ramirez| Legislative Director| oscar.ramirez@mail.house.gov| 202.225.7508 (o)
• Lucinda R. Daniels| District Director & Counsel| lucinda.daniels@mail.house.gov| 202.812.0539 (m): 713.383.9234 (o)
• Clarence “Doc” Holliday| Community Liaison| clarence.holliday@mail.house.gov|281.455.2510 (m): 713.383.9234 (o)

House helps minority contractors, hurts Hubzones: Post No. 112007-1

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By Kent Hoover Washington Bureau

Minority-owned businesses could benefit at the expense of businesses located in low-income areas if the Senate goes along with legislation passed by the House.

The Small Business Contracting Improvements Act, which passed the House by a 334-80 vote Oct. 30, would increase the net-worth limit for owners of small businesses entering the 8(a) program from $250,000 to $550,000. Companies in the 8(a) program, which is open to socially and economically disadvantaged businesses, are eligible for contract set-asides and other procurement preferences.

Racial minorities are presumed to be socially and economically disadvantaged. The House legislation (H.R. 3867) also would eliminate the current $750,000 net-worth ceiling that business owners must meet in order to remain in the 8(a) program. The value of an owner’s house and his or her equity in the business are not considered when calculating net worth. Supporters of these provisions said the current net-worth limits are outdated and keep 8(a) companies from becoming strong businesses. More opportunities for minority-owned businesses are needed, they contended, to help narrow the gap between minorities’ share of the U.S. population — 32 percent — and their share of businesses — 18 percent.

“For too long we have forced minority businesses to operate under antiquated financial standards that in many cases were simply setting them up to fail,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., who chairs the House Small Business Committee. Opponents of the legislation, including the Bush administration, said the bill’s higher net-worth limits would allow wealthy individuals to qualify for contracting preferences. Add home equity and business assets to $550,000 and an 8(a) business owner could be a millionaire, said Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md. “Now we’re defining a millionaire as disadvantaged,” he said. Legislation approved by the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Nov. 7 also would increase the 8(a) program’s net worth limit.

This bill, however, doesn’t include restrictions imposed by the House on the Hubzone program, which provides contracting preferences to businesses located in low-income areas, regardless of their owners’ race or net worth. Hubzones would be low priority The House bill would eliminate a requirement for federal procurement officers to set aside contracts for Hubzone firms, instead making these set-asides discretionary. The bill would give businesses owned by service-disabled veterans top priority for contracts. The legislation also would restrict construction contracts for Hubzone firms to sites within 150 miles of their main office, which could make it hard for rural companies and Native American firms to win work.

The bill should be called “the Hubzone Decimation Act,” said Ron Newlan, who heads the Hubzone Contractors National Council and co-founded Global Solutions Network Inc., a Hubzone firm in Alexandria, Va. “It will take the wind right out of what little sail we have,” Newlan said. About $7.2 billion in federal contracts went to Hubzone firms in 2006. That represented 2.1 percent of total federal contracting dollars, far short of the government’s goal of 3 percent. Minority-owned businesses, including those in the 8(a) program, received $23 billion in contracts, or 6.8 percent of the total. The goal for this category was 5 percent.

Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, said the House bill would hurt the Hubzone program’s ability to promote economic development in low-income areas. “Rather than growing opportunities for all small businesses,” the legislation “pits all of these deserving groups against one another,” said Chabot, the ranking Republican on the House Small Business Committee. Newlan hopes he can stop the Hubzone changes in the Senate, where the program has strong support. Bills speed women set-asides Both the House and the Senate contracting bills would direct the Small Business Administration to implement a long-delayed set-aside program for women-owned businesses.

The House bill also would allow agencies to begin setting aside contracts for women immediately in 20 industries, ranging from construction to professional services. Women-owned businesses received $11.6 billion in federal contracts last year. That represents 3.4 percent of total contracts, far below the government’s 5 percent goal. Legislation enacted in 2000 directed the SBA to identify the industries where women have been underrepresented in federal contracting and then establish set-aside programs for them.

A study identifying the industries was not completed until this year, and the SBA’s regulations for the program are still under review by other agencies. “This bill tells the SBA to get it done within 90 days,” said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who chairs the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee.

HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE: Sources of Legislation| Post No. 111907-2

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Sources of ideas for legislation are unlimited and proposed drafts of bills originate in many diverse quarters. Primary among these is the idea and draft conceived by a Member or Delegate. This may emanate from the election campaign during which the Member had promised, if elected, to introduce legislation on a particular subject. 

The entire campaign may have been based upon one or more such proposals. The Member may have also become aware after taking office of the need for amendment to or repeal of an existing law or the enactment of a statute in an entirely new field. 

In addition, the Member’s constituents, either as individuals or through citizen groups or associations may avail themselves of the right to petition and transmit their proposals to the Member.  

The right to petition is guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. 

Similarly, state legislatures may ‘‘memorialize’’ Congress to enact specified federal laws by passing resolutions to be transmitted to the House and Senate as memorials. 

In modern times, the ‘‘executive communication’’ has become a prolific source of legislative proposals. This is usually in the form of a message or letter from a member of the President’s Cabinet or the head of an independent agency—or even from the President— transmitting a draft of a proposed bill to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate. Despite the structure of separation of powers, Article II, Section 3, of the Constitution imposes an obligation on the President to report to Congress from time to time on the ‘‘State of the Union’’ and to recommend for consideration such measures as the President considers necessary and expedient. 

The most important of the regular executive communications is the annual message from the President transmitting the proposed budget to Congress. 

Several of the executive departments and independent agencies employ trained legislative counsels whose functions include the drafting of bills to be forwarded to Congress with a request for their enactment. In addition, congressional committees sometimes draft bills after studies and hearings covering periods of a year or more. 

HOW OUR LAWS ARE MADE: Congress| Post No. 111907-1

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Before we begin to fully engage in a dialogue about how to obtain an upgrade in the small business & disadvantaged business PRIME CONTRACT goals and gain MANDATORY government agency compliance with “teeth” in the codification; we must first briefly discuss the process by which our laws are made. This will help us to better communicate our expectations to our Congressional Representative, and also better manage our own expectations. 

INTRODUCTION 

The framers of our Constitution created a strong federal government resting on the concept of ‘‘separation of powers.’’ In Article I, Section 1, of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch is created by the following language: ‘‘All legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives.’’ In furtherance of this empowerment, Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution authorizes each House to determine its own rules.

Upon this elegant, yet simple, grant of legislative powers and rulemaking authority has grown an exceedingly complex and evolving legislative processes much of it unique to each House of Congress. 

The legislative process is a matter about which every citizen should be well informed in order to understand and appreciate the work of Congress. One of the most practical safeguards of the American democratic way of life is this legislative process with its emphasis on the protection of the minority, allowing ample opportunity to all sides to be heard and make their views known.  

THE CONGRESS 

The Senate is composed of 100 Members—two from each state, regardless of population or area—elected by the people in accordance with the 17th Amendment to the Constitution. Each Senator has one vote. 

As constituted in the 105th Congress, the House of Representatives is composed of 435 Members elected every two years from among the 50 states, apportioned to their total populations. The Constitution limits the number of Representatives to not more than one for every 30,000 of population. Each Representative has one vote. 

Under the provisions of Section 2 of the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, Congress must assemble at least once every year, at noon on the 3rd day of January, unless by law they appoint a different day. A Congress lasts for two years, commencing in January of the year following the biennial election of Members. A Congress is divided into two sessions.  

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have equal legislative functions and powers. However, the Constitution provides that only the House of Representatives originate revenue bills. By tradition, the House also originates appropriation bills. The Constitution authorizes each House to determine the rules of its proceedings. Pursuant to that authority, the House of Representatives adopts its rules on the opening day of each Congress. The Senate considers itself a continuing body and operates under continuous standing rules that it amends from time to time. 

The chief function of Congress is the making of laws.  

In addition, the Senate has the function of advising and consenting to treaties and to certain nominations by the President.

9th Congressional District| FY 2004 to 2007 8(a) Contract Award Summary: Post No. 111507-1

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As we begin this forum, 8vsb would like to provide some background information in regards to the 9th Congressional district. Specifically, the following are some statistics that provide a framework for the economic situation of the 9th Congressional district.

Each future post will bear the date and number in the order of posting; e.g., this posting is:

111507-1

Highlights –

1. Total Contracting Dollars: $23,127,066

2. 90% of Total 04 to 07 Contracting Dollars have gone to (1) firm: AL RAZAQ Computing Services| $20,509,731; All earned at NASA JSC

3. Number of 8(a) firms in 9^th Congressional District: 26

4. % of 8(a) firms in 9^th Congressional District w/contracts: 42%

5. Average Contract Value (not/incl. AL RAZAQ): $261,000

Top 10 Contractors – 4 years:

1. AL RAZAQ COMPUTING SERVICES $20,507,459 [Note: AL RAZAQ graduated from 8(a) program in 2006]

2. MEDICAL PLUS SUPPLIES INC $1,610,621

3. AMERICAN PLASTICS, INC. $542,603

4. EXPOTECH USA INC $162,037

5. AMER TECHNOLOGY, INC $72,357

6. INTERNATIONAL SUPPLIERS $68,649

7. NILE INCORPORATED $67,500

8. OLOWOFOYEKU, OLU & $54,296

9. METRO MEDICAL EQUIPMENT & SUPP $16,295

10. A&B ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, $15,609

Top 5 Products or Services Sold – 4 years:

1. Other Management Support Services $20,246,681 (100% AL RAZAQ)

2. Warehousing and Storage Services $953,093

3. Medical and Surgical Instruments, Equipment, and Supplies $663,060

4. Maintenance, Repair or Alteration of Real Property — Hospitals and Infirmaries $542,603

5. ADP Central Processing Unit (CPU, Computer), Analog $183,888

Top 5 Contracting Agencies Purchasing from Contractor(s) – 4 years:

1. NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION $20,509,731 (100% AL RAZAQ)

2. VETERANS AFFAIRS, Department of $2,252,628

3. ARMY, Department of the (except Corps of Engineers Civil Program Financing) $147,417

4. Bureau of the Public Debt $72,357

5. NAVY, Department of the $70,096

Committee Explores the Recent Mortgage Crisis and its Impact on Entrepreneurs: Post No. 111007-1

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For first time, Federal Reserve Governor addresses the effect of market instability on small ventures

WASHINGTON – Today, the House Small Business Committee heard testimony from Governor Frederic Mishkin of the Federal Reserve as to the importance of small businesses in the US economy. Considering that small enterprises create the majority of net new jobs in this country, Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez stressed that the needs of small firms must be into account when dealing with the current market instability.

“Virtually every business sector has been affected by the recent volatility in the financial markets, causing widespread uncertainty and doubt,” said Chairwoman Velázquez. “Tightening of lending standards has the potential to drastically impact small firms, so we must monitor this situation closely and ensure that they are afforded adequate access to capital.”

Small businesses play a critical role in the economy, accounting for almost half of employer firms and bringing much needed goods and services to communities across the country. If businesses are unable to access adequate capital, these contributions may be placed at risk, depriving local areas and the national economy of important growth. Governor Mishkin said that while small businesses are currently withstanding recent market turmoil, access to capital is crucial and the Fed is monitoring the situation to try and prevent future problems.

“Financial market conditions began to deteriorate quite rapidly in the middle of August. Although conditions have steadily, albeit gradually, improved over recent weeks, problems could spill over to the market for small business loans,” Mishkin said.

To view further discussion of the market instability, the current mortgage crisis and other economic issues discussed today, click on the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=DE1B69B06B5821F2

NASA: Johnson Space Center syphoning contracts out of 8(a) program: Post No. 110207-1

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According to a reliable source inside NASA – Johnson Space Center:

Firms who are currently holding 8(a) contracts and exiting the program, are requesting (and receiving) from the agency transfers of 8(a) contracts onto GSA schedules. This creates the following issues & concerns:

1) Once an 8(a) contract leaves the program into GSA it cannot return

2) These transfers are made without justification or cause by the agency (non-compete to the same vendor)

3) The agency does not solicit the 8a vendor community via RFI or sources sought to seek new 8(a) vendors

4) Once on GSA, the same vendor can have the contract for the next ten years

5) These 8a contracts are not being replaced in the 8(a) program

What are your thoughts regarding this practice?

Cardin Opening Statement on Improving The Ability of Everyone to Access Federal Contracting Opportunities: Post No. 110107-4

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Monday, October 29, 2007

Good afternoon and welcome. I want to thank all our witnesses for being here today to discuss the issues that minority and women owned small businesses face in contracting with the federal government. All of us seated here are interested in one thing – and one thing only – finding solutions to the persistent problems that minority and women owned businesses confront in their efforts to contract with the federal government.

Small business is the engine that drives our economy and sustains our technological lead in the global marketplace, producing one-third of all new patents issued. Furthermore, over 60 percent of all new jobs created each year are the direct result of small business entrepreneurs stepping into the turbulent waters of business and creating opportunities for themselves and others. Government has a responsibility and interest in fostering and promoting a business climate that supports such growth. Small business plays a vital role in the federal contracting system by ensuring competition and supplying the federal government with a constant supply of new entrants who bring new ideas and novel approaches for doing the job at hand and supplying services at a competitive rate.

However, it has become all too common during the past six years for the federal government not to meet its small business contracting goal and this year is no exception. Figures recently released by the SBA reveal that the Administration failed to meet any of the small business contracting goals for 2006, including goals for women and minorities which fell well below the five percent objective. According to Eagle Eye Publishers, an independent source for federal contracting statistics, the federal government spent more than $412 billion dollars in 2006 on federal procurement. Of these funds, 23 percent are required to be used for small business assistance. However, only 20 percent actually wound up there. This failure by federal departments and agencies in their small business contracting goal represents $12 billion dollars in lost opportunities and revenues for the nation’s small businesses. Contributing to such failure is the common practice of consolidating contracts, or “contract bundling”, which limits small businesses from competing for procurement contracts that would otherwise be divided and performed by small businesses. Such bundling reduces competition and ultimately hurts the taxpayer. In 2004, the GAO released a report entitled “Impact of Strategy to Mitigate Effects of Contract Bundling on Small Business is Uncertain” and recommended that the SBA disseminate best practices to maximize small business contracting opportunities. We are anxious to hear what steps the SBA and the other agencies testifying today have taken to address this perennial problem and to hear how they have responded to GAO’s recommendations.

Furthermore, in a recent analysis by this Committee, it was revealed that at least 6 of the top 30 small business vendors doing business with the federal government in 2005 were actually large corporations. Allowing large businesses such as General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and other Fortune 500 companies to receive or maintain small business contracts for a period of five years makes a mockery of the very definition of small business. Last year our colleagues on the House side discovered that $12 billion in contracts that agencies claimed went to small businesses actually were held by Fortune 500 companies. This must stop.

The Small Business Administration is tasked with the responsibility of protecting the interests of small business concerns, preserving free competitive enterprise and maintaining and strengthening the overall economy of our nation. The success of any government agency depends on the resources that are allocated to that agency that allow it to fulfill its mission. In order for the SBA to properly do its job, the Administration must fund the SBA at a level that allows it to manage, monitor and maintain its core programs.

The 8(a) program is a good barometer of the Administration’s funding commitment to small business. The 8(a) program was established in the late 1960s and remains the primary gateway for minority and women owned small businesses to enter the federal marketplace. The Administration’s 2008 fiscal year budget request of 35 million dollars for operating this program is over a million less than the 2007 fiscal year request, despite the fact that in the last five years, the 8(a) program has witnessed a near doubling of new participants accepted into the program. This has led the SBA’s Inspector General to list the 8(a) program as one of the SBA’s Top Ten Most Critical Management Challenges for the last 7 years, citing various problems that require the Administrator’s attention and that remain unresolved. The current funding level is simply insufficient to manage the steady growth of the 8(a) program and address such critical problems as oversight and contract awards. The SBA’s 2008 fiscal budget proposal does little to address these problems and the resources that are provided are insufficient to address the management challenges raised by GAO and the SBA’s Inspector General Office. I hope that we will get into some of these issues today.

I am also concerned about the complaints I receive regarding subcontractors being victimized by powerful prime contractors. First let me say this, there should be more prime contracts awarded to minority owned small businesses. All too often, a subcontractor will spend hundreds and in some cases thousands of dollars preparing a proposal that the prime incorporates into its successful bid proposal – only to learn later that the prime contractor has selected another subcontractor or elected to perform the work in-house. In either case, the prime contractor is still credited competitively in the selection process with having employed a small business and may have been awarded the contract based on such false representations. There are also numerous complaints about the subcontractors not being paid on time, paid less then agreed upon or not paid at all. Many subcontractors fearing that they will be shut out if they complain simply chalk the loss up as the cost of doing business and accept the abuse. This conduct is unconscionable and prime contractors that are found to engage in such practices should be banned from competing for federal contracts. It was not by coincidence that we chose to have this field hearing in Prince Georges County. By any measure, the African American community here is regarded in studies and surveys as leading the nation in business ownership, start-ups, educational attainment, homeownership and capital formation. While some communities may have one chamber of commerce or business association, Prince Georges has several. This fact underscores the vitality, diversity and prosperity that exist in this fertile business environment. In short, when you combine all the assets that I have described, you have the ingredients and setting for the growth and emergence of an entrepreneurial class and that is what we have gathered here today. When you juxtapose this vibrant entrepreneurial class next to the seat of the federal government you should have a recipe or formula for success. But this has not been the case. African American, Hispanic and women owned small businesses have had to battle the federal bureaucracy to get their fair share and provide essential services and products to the American public. The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, chaired by my distinguished colleague, Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, hopes to change that and I and others serving on the Committee are working with him to accomplish this goal. Chairman Kerry and I are working together on legislation that will address a number of issues that will be discussed today. First, we’re working on legislation that limits the practice of bundling contracts that could and should go to minority and women owned small businesses. Second, we’re going to look at ways to protect small businesses engaged in subcontracting from the various abuses prime contractors get away with – such as not paying subs on a timely basis. Third, we want to update the net worth threshold for the 8(a) program. And last, we’re working on a number of provisions that will bring some accountability and transparency to the procurement process.

With the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission recommendations, we now have in our backyard a tremendous opportunity to change and redefine the way the federal government deals with small and minority business contractors for the better not only here but nationally. Our region is uniquely poised to benefit from the billions of dollars that will be deposited here in the form of construction, service and product procurement contracts that will fuel BRAC’s expansion. This reality will provide an excellent opportunity for the Defense Department and the military services to reach out and work with the various chambers within Maryland and the region. It also provides DOD’s procurement office with an excellent opportunity to create an innovative platform for working with small businesses that can become a model for the nation. The stakes here are high and we want DOD to succeed. I and other members of the Maryland congressional delegation, as well as the Senate’s Small Business Committee, will be closely monitoring DOD’s efforts over the next few years.

I would also like to note that Maryland and Prince Georges County’ cost per square foot for commercial space is among the lowest in the region. Prince George’s county offers proximity and easy access to Washington via mass transit and excellent roadways, so locating federal facilities here would not only reduce congestion in Washington but save tax payers money as well.

While some of my comments paint a bleak picture of the SBA’s performance up to this point, I wish to recognize Administrator Steven Preston, who in his short tenure has demonstrated a willingness to tackle difficult issues. In particular, I wish to note his efforts in creating a scorecard that shine a light on those agencies that have failed to meet their small business goals. However, even a scorecard that holds a department up to public scrutiny is no substitute for enforcement powers that would allow the SBA or some other agency to compel compliance and impose sanctions. This is a legislative option that must be considered.

In the SBA’s recently released scorecard report, GSA received a “Red” designation which is equivalent to an “F” on a report card. While a “Green” designation means that an agency is meeting most of its goals and a “Yellow” means that agency needs improvement but is putting programs and methodologies in place to achieve compliance, a “Red” means that agency has failed. GSA plays too important a role in the overall federal contracting scheme to fail.

It is the only agency that other federal agencies look to in addressing fast track contracting and procurement needs that cannot wait to be bid out. For this reason, GSA must have minority and women owned small businesses listed on their GSA schedule in sufficient numbers to comply with fast track contracting demands. However, I see no urgency on the part of GSA to do this. The GSA Schedule is one of the most exclusive clubs one can hope to join in Washington and this must stop. I want to hear today how GSA plans to open up the doors to competition and allow such business in.

The testimony and evidence that will be entered into the record here and the various other hearings we have held during the course of this legislative session will help the Committee recommend congressional action to encourage more business opportunities for minority and women owned small businesses.

Hearing Focuses on Contracting Problems for Small and Minority-Owned Businesses: Post No. 110107-3

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Wednesday, October 31, 2007

BOWIE, MD – Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), today chaired a field hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship to investigate federal government contracting problems and legislative remedies that will help small and minority-owned businesses compete for federal contracts.

“Small business is the engine that drives our economy and sustains our technological lead in the global marketplace,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Committee. “The federal government has a responsibility and interest in fostering and promoting a business climate that supports small business growth.”

For the past six years the federal government has consistently failed to meet its small business contracting goals. According to the Small Business Administration, in 2006 the federal government failed to meet any of its small business contracting goals. The SBA report also showed that its goals for women and minorities fell below the 5% objective.

Another recurring theme of those testifying at the hearing was that many of the contracts that were intended for small businesses end up going to large corporations. In 2005, at least six of the top 30 small business vendors doing business with the federal government were actually large corporations.

“Small business plays a vital role in the federal contracting system by ensuring competition and supplying the federal government with a constant supply of new entrants who bring new ideas and novel approaches for doing the job at hand and supplying services at a competitive rate.”

Representatives from the Small Business Administration, the Department of Defense, the General Services Administration and several small and minority business leaders in Maryland testified at the hearing. Senator Cardin announced that he is working with members of the Small Business Committee on legislation that will deal with barriers that make it difficult for small businesses competing for federal contracts.

House Approves Bill to Improve Contracting Opportunities for Small Firms: Post No. 110107-2

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WASHINGTON – Today, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3867 “The Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act,” by a margin of 334 to 80. Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez gave the following opening statement.

In recent years, the federal marketplace has seen phenomenal growth. However, while procurement opportunities are increasing, agencies are failing to meet their small business, women, service disabled veterans, minority and low income contracting goals. This has not only cost small businesses billions in lost opportunities but deprives the government of a valuable supplier.

Our nation’s entrepreneurs play an important role in the procurement system, providing diversity, competition and ensuring we get the best value for the taxpayer dollar. To help them get a start, there is an array of contracting programs offering technical assistance, purchasing flexibility, and targeted benefits.

Unfortunately, due to legislative neglect, under funding and mismanagement by several administrations, the programs have fallen far short of their full potential, leaving many small businesses outside of the federal marketplace. The Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act, introduced by myself and Representative Mary Fallin, will change that by making important improvements to women, minority, HUB ZONE and service disabled veteran contracting programs.

H.R. 3867 will immediately implement the Women’s Procurement Program that has languished in the current administration’s endless delays. It also updates the economic criteria for the 8(a) program, reflecting current fiscal realities. The last time Congress addressed the 8(a) program was almost 20 years ago when a gallon of gas was 90 cents and the average cost of a home was less than 90,000 dollars. For too long we have forced minority businesses to operate under antiquated financial standards that, in many cases, were simply setting them up to fail.

Most importantly this legislation will give our service disabled veterans top priority when it comes to contracting opportunities. For those men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, many with life altering injuries, this bill will provide the tools to start a new endeavor and begin a new life. These changes will go a long way to addressing many of the program shortcomings that have frustrated our nation’s small business owners.

H.R. 3867 also fights fraud in the federal marketplace. Contracting opportunities are a privilege not a right – the Small Business Contracting Improvements Act makes that clear. For the first time we are imposing a business code of conduct on all participants, requiring the federal government to verify that individuals are who they claim, and empower small firms to police their own programs. This will restore integrity to these critical programs.

Through modernizing programs and increasing accountability, H.R. 3867 brings SBA’s contracting programs into the 21st century. It is for this reason that this legislation has attracted remarkably broad support including the National Federation of Independent Business, Associated General Contractors, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Veterans to U.S Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Black Chamber of Commerce, Women Chamber of Commerce, International Franchise Association as well as the National Defense Industrial Association and then Aerospace Industry Association.

This is a measured approach that balances the need to give program flexibility within the realities of current agency buying strategies. It is good for small business, good for the agency and most importantly good for the taxpayers.