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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle C--Industrial Base Matters

P. L. 113-291

Explanatory Statement, 12/4/14, H8671

SEC. 825. SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.

(a) Authority for Sole Source Contracts for Certain Small Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by Women- Subsection (m) of section 8 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) is amended--

(1) by amending paragraph (2)(E) to read as follows:

`(E) each of the concerns is certified by a Federal agency, a State government, the Administrator, or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator as a small business concern owned and controlled by women.';

(2) in paragraph (5), by striking `paragraph (2)(F)' each place such term appears and inserting `paragraph (2)(E)'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

`(7) AUTHORITY FOR SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS FOR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN- A contracting officer may award a sole source contract under this subsection to any small business concern owned and controlled by women described in paragraph (2)(A) and certified under paragraph (2)(E) if--

`(A) such concern is determined to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance of the contract opportunity and the contracting officer does not have a reasonable expectation that 2 or more businesses described in paragraph (2)(A) will submit offers;

`(B) the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will not exceed--

`(i) $6,500,000, in the case of a contract opportunity assigned a standard industrial classification code for manufacturing; or

`(ii) $4,000,000, in the case of any other contract opportunity; and

`(C) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.

`(8) AUTHORITY FOR SOLE SOURCE CONTRACTS FOR SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN IN SUBSTANTIALLY UNDERREPRESENTED INDUSTRIES- A contracting officer may award a sole source contract under this subsection to any small business concern owned and controlled by women certified under paragraph (2)(E) that is in an industry in which small business concerns owned and controlled by women are substantially underrepresented (as determined by the Administrator under paragraph (3)) if--

`(A) such concern is determined to be a responsible contractor with respect to performance of the contract opportunity and the contracting officer does not have a reasonable expectation that 2 or more businesses in an industry that has received a waiver under paragraph (3) will submit offers;

`(B) the anticipated award price of the contract (including options) will not exceed--

`(i) $6,500,000, in the case of a contract opportunity assigned a standard industrial classification code for manufacturing; or

`(ii) $4,000,000, in the case of any other contract opportunity; and

`(C) in the estimation of the contracting officer, the contract award can be made at a fair and reasonable price.'.

(b) Reporting on Goals for Sole Source Contracts for Small Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by Women- Clause (viii) of subsection 15(h)(2)(E) of such Act is amended--

(1) in subclause (IV), by striking `and' after the semicolon;

(2) by redesignating subclause (V) as subclause (VIII); and

(3) by inserting after subclause (IV) the following new subclauses:

`(V) through sole source contracts awarded using the authority under subsection 8(m)(7);

`(VI) through sole source contracts awarded using the authority under section 8(m)(8);

`(VII) by industry for contracts described in subclause (III), (IV), (V), or (VI); and'.

(c) Accelerated Deadline for Report on Industries Underrepresented by Small Business Concerns Owned and Controlled by Women- Paragraph (2) of section 29(o) of such Act is amended by striking `5 years after the date of enactment' and inserting `3 years after the date of enactment'.

Sole source contracts for small business concerns owned and controlled by women (sec. 825)

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 827) that would allow for sole source contracting to certain women owned small businesses.

The Senate committee-reported bill contained no similar provision.

The agreement includes the House provision with a clarifying amendment.


Statement of Congresswoman Speier, upon offering amendment 82, at H4724 on 5/21/14, which became Section 827

The second amendment is a significant amendment for women-owned businesses in this country. For 20 years now, we have set a governmentwide goal of 5 percent. For 20 years, we have not met that 5 percent. This particular amendment takes away the extra obstacle that is imposed on women-owned businesses and not on others when sole-source contracting is provided.


Additional Information

Congressional Record, July 30, 2014

Senator Cantwell's introduction of S. 2693.  Women's Small Business Ownership Act of 2014.

"Last week, the Small Business Committee released a report entitled ``21st Century Barriers to Women's Entrepreneurship'' that assesses the current challenges faced by women-owned businesses. The report also makes policy recommendations to increase economic opportunity for women and help to put them on a level playing field with other business owners.

Our committee report makes four critical findings and includes policy recommendations to help remedy the business climate for women entrepreneurs."

* * *

"Last, the committee report finds that women business owners face challenges getting access to Federal contracts. Despite the growing number of businesses owned by women, the Federal Government has never met its goal of awarding 5 percent of its contracts to women-owned small businesses. Our report notes that if the government met this goal, women-owned small businesses would have access to additional market opportunity worth up to $4 billion a year.

That is why we are introducing the Women's Small Business Ownership Act."

Excerpt from the Majority Report of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship entitled:  21st Century Barriers to Women’s Entrepreneurship

"One reason the agencies contracting with women-owned businesses have not hit their goals is that the WOSB Procurement Program remains the only major small business contracting program that does not have sole source authority. Sole source authority is an important tool used by agencies, which allows them to award sole source contracts up to a certain value (generally $6.5 million for manufacturing contracts or $4 million for all other contracts). The authority to award sole source contracts allows agencies to negotiate with a single contractor without being bound by traditional competition requirements.

This benefits agencies by allowing them to award small contracts more efficiently, and it benefits small contractors by removing certain administrative burdens that can be costly and can result in early elimination from consideration for award. Due to these advantages, 15 percent of small business awards are awarded through sole source  contracts to other traditionally disadvantaged groups.78 The inability of agencies to utilize this tool to award small contracts to women-owned small businesses puts the WOSB Procurement Program and the women it seeks to assist at a disadvantage.

The WOSB Procurement Program is implemented poorly, with statutory and regulatory burdens that prevent its efficient use by agencies charged with meeting the women-owned small business contracting goal. That poor implementation is exacerbated by outdated industry classifications, created by the narrowly-focused disparity study, and a lack of sole source authority that makes using the program harder for federal contracting officers. These challenges for the program combine to place an undue burden on women attempting to contract with the federal government.

Despite continued efforts to improve federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses, the federal government has yet – since the goal was created – to reach its 5 percent contracting goal. To improve contracting procedures and finally achieve that goal – allowing access to more than $500 billion in annual federal procurement opportunities – Congress should:

  • Enact legislation to allow sole source contracts to be awarded to women-owned small businesses and economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses through the WOSB Procurement Program. This will give contracting officers an additional tool by which to increase the participation of women-owned small business in the federal market, and it puts the WOSB Procurement Program on a more even footing with the other federal contracting programs designed to benefit certain historically disadvantaged socioeconomic classes of small businesses.
     
  • Accelerate the due date for the updated disparity study, which SBA must conduct to determine those industries in which women-owned small businesses are underrepresented, from 2018 to 2015. This could potentially open hundreds of new contract opportunities within new industry NAICS codes to women-owned small businesses.

At the end of the day, women business owners should have the same tools that other small businesses have available to them. Providing women-owned firms with a sole source mechanism would ensure that contracting programs for all small businesses are treated the same. This would also improve the likelihood that women will receive at least $4 billion additionally each year that they should receive in government contracts.

Further, an outdated study of under-represented industries is the underpinning of the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract program and works against congressional efforts to diversify the government’s supply base, and possibly strengthen our national security, because women are only allowed contracting benefits in industries that have historically been closed to them. Rather than waiting until 2018 for the results of the new study of under-represented industries, women should have access to this information much more expeditiously, which will likely result in increased opportunities in many industries. By the time the new study is available in 2018, the data for the first study – still in effect until the new study results are released – will be nearly 15 years old."

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