Landrieu, Snowe Introduce Bill To Boost Small Business Contracts
Thursday, February 04, 2010
Posted by: Angelin Barrios
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship Chair, Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., and Ranking Member Olympia J.
Snowe, R-Maine, today introduced a bill to modernize and strengthen the Small
Business Administration’s government contracting programs to help increase
small business sales and create American jobs.
"Government contracts are perhaps one of the easiest and most
inexpensive ways the government can help immediately increase sales for
America’s entrepreneurs, giving them the tools they need to keep our economy
strong and create jobs,” Sen. Landrieu said. "These contracting opportunities
represent job creation for small businesses in a way that is unique. When large
businesses get new work they typically spread that work among existing
employees. When small businesses get these contracts they must staff up to meet
the increased demand. By increasing contracts to small businesses by just 1
percent, we can create more than 100,000 new jobs – and today, we need those
jobs more than ever.”
"Federal contracting opportunities have served as a vital tool
for American small businesses, helping them to grow, expand, and hire,” said
Ranking Member Snowe. "Yet the ability of these companies to earn Federal
contracts is frequently stunted by the egregious and repeated failure of
Federal agencies to meet their statutory 23-percent small business ‘goaling’
requirements. Our bill, which is based on legislation I originally introduced
as Chair of this Committee in the 109th Congress, will endow the SBA with
additional and improved instruments to remedy this consistent underperformance
and meet the myriad demands of an ever-changing 21st century contracting
environment.”
The Small Business Contracting Improvements Act of 2010 would:
- Require agencies to
consider small businesses when placing orders on large contracts;
- Close many loopholes
that give big businesses an unfair advantage;
- Add protections for
small firms and sub-contractors;
- Reduce bundled contracts
by reserving more contracts for small business concerns; and
- Shine light on which
agencies bundle and why.
To read Senator Landrieu’s statement, please click
here.
To read Senator Snowe’s statement, please click
here.
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