In an epic week fueled by bipartisanship, the Senate Small
Business Committee and the House Armed Services Committee put small business issues
front and center in a way that was nothing short of amazing. This just goes to show that the “do-nothing
Congress” does in fact do plenty when it comes to small business.
Let’s first talk about the Senate Small Business
Committee. Across its Senators, they
introduced and are expected to pass three bills important to WIPP. One bill
would extend the Small Business and Innovative Research program (SBIR) and a
related program the Small Business Technology Transfer program (STTR) and
included a mandate to do better outreach to women and minorities (thanks to
Michigan’s Senator Gary Peters). The government funds innovative products and
services through federal grants to bring the products to
commercialization. Don’t know about
it—look into it at: SBIR.gov. By the way,
this is part of WIPP’s access to capital platform – so another accomplishment
for our advocacy.
Are you a contractor?
Then you might be interested in the introduction of The
Small Business Transforming America's
Regions Act of 2016. If you aren’t aware of the HUBZone program,
you should look into it. The government
gives a bid preference to companies who invest in low-income areas. It could supplement the WOSB program you
already belong to. At least check it out
at SBA’s
HUBZone Page.
Need capital? The
Committee is expected to modernize
the Microloan Program administered by the SBA.
The program lends $50,000 and below to companies who need capital. In case you didn’t know it, there is a whole
nationwide network of lenders who stand ready to lend, backed by the
government’s guarantee against failure.
Now onto the House Armed Services Committee. This Committee and its counterpart, the
Senate Armed Services Committee, prepare a bill each year, the National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) that funds all military operations. It is a must-pass bill because the military
requires certainty in funding. In order
for the US to keep its competitiveness, it must have a strong and diverse
industrial base. That’s where small
businesses come in.
To that end, a whole
section of the bill is devoted to small business contracting changes and
strengthening resources for women entrepreneurs including women’s business
centers. The bill:
•
Requires an annual report on the share of
contract dollars awarded to small businesses without any exclusions
•
Establishes a pilot program that enables
contractors to receive a past performance rating by submitting a request to the
contracting officer and/or prime contractor
•
Requires the SBA to develop a list of no-cost
programs that assist small businesses in compliance with Federal
regulations.
•
Strengthens agency small business offices to
recommend which small business set-aside programs should be used for each
contract at their agency.
•
Requires commercial market representatives
(CMRs) to assist prime contractors in identifying small business subcontractors
and assess the prime’s compliance with their subcontracting plans
•
Adds HUBZone and SDVOSB to small business office
oversight (previously not listed in statute but already happening in practice)
In case you do not remember,
the Women’s Business Center reforms would raise the funding authorization level
by 50% from $14.5M to $21.75M and increase grants to individual centers as well
as streamline the program. Better program, better training for women.
How did all of this happen?
Champions. The leadership of the
House Small Business Committee, which passed the provisions now part of the
NDAA, worked together hand-in-glove to assist our businesses. Chair Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Ranking Member
Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) set the gold standard of getting things done without a
partisan fuss. Similarly, the Senate
Small Business Committee, under the guidance of Chair David Vitter (R-LA) and Ranking
Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) worked together to introduce reforms good for
small businesses.
The real story behind all of this activity is the power of
small businesses uniting to ask for changes in contracting and better resources
to succeed. Organizations, such as WIPP
are the champions, walking the halls of Congress to press for better programs
and fairness in contracting.
While I would agree that Congress is more partisan than ever
before, there are bright spots. This
past week was certainly one—all made possible by elected officials crossing party
lines for the good of women-owned companies.
If you ever wondered what your WIPP membership is paying for or if you
need a reason to join WIPP, look no further.
The advocacy WIPP provides on your behalf is the best return on
investment you may ever find. It
requires almost none of your time, requires a minimal monetary investment
(dues) and you get a whole team dedicated to advancing your agenda to the
Congress on a daily basis.
I call that value.
