WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) introduced the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act of 2024 today to help ensure that small businesses owned by women or service-disabled veterans, and those located in economically distressed areas, can better compete for federal contracts. Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) and Congressman Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) introduced the bill in the House of Representatives, where it passed unanimously.
“When small businesses are able to fulfill federal contracts, everyone wins,” said Senator Coons. “This commonsense, bipartisan legislation is a key step toward ensuring the federal government keeps its promises to women, veterans, and underserved communities when awarding federal contracts. This bill will increase oversight of programs that provide valuable opportunities for the hardworking yet underrepresented entrepreneurs and small businesses that are the foundation of our state’s economy.”
“Louisiana’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and they deserve a fair shot at working with the federal government,” said Senator Kennedy. “The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act would require the Small Business Administration to tell the public about the contracts it grants so that job creators can take advantage of every opportunity that’s open to them.”
“As a former entrepreneur who built and scaled several businesses in southeastern Pennsylvania, I am all too familiar with the challenges many small business owners face,” said Congresswoman Houlahan. “Ensuring that women, veterans, and underrepresented communities have fair access to federal contracts is an important step in expanding opportunities for small businesses while making sure the federal government has access to the widest possible selection of quality goods and services. For decades, the Small Business Administration has supported programs to help federal dollars go to small businesses that reflect the makeup of our nation. These programs have helped scores of Americans, but with additional oversight and data, we can continue to improve their efficiency and impact – and Congress agrees. I’m proud to have worked alongside Representative Stauber to pass this bill unanimously in the House and thankful for the leadership of Senators Coons and Kennedy in the Senate.”
“The federal government is the largest consumer of goods and services in the world, and the SBA’s contracting programs provide small businesses with opportunities to participate,” said Congressman Stauber. “Unfortunately, the government has failed to meet its goals in awarding business to these entrepreneurs. We must do more to ensure proper safeguards are in place. That’s why I’m proud to support this legislation that would bring much-needed oversight to the federal procurement marketplace and improve opportunities for our small businesses.”
The Small Business Administration (SBA) oversees three programs – the Women-Owned Small Business Program (WOSB), the Historically Underutilized Business Zone Program (HUBZone), and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program (SDVOSB) – that help qualifying small businesses compete for federal contracts. Federal agencies have statutory goals of awarding 5% of federal prime contracts to women-owned small businesses; 3% to small businesses in economically distressed Census tracts, counties, or Indian reservations; and 3% to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.
However, the federal government often fails to meet these goals. The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act of 2024 would begin to address these shortcomings by requiring the SBA to submit annual reports including the following data:
Providing such data will help the SBA identify shortcomings and correct flaws in the WOSB, HUBZone, and SDVOSB programs to ensure that the U.S. government is hitting its goals for awarding prime contracts to underserved small businesses.
A one-pager on the bill is available here.
The text of the bill is available here.
Senator Coons is a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.