Small Business Committee Adopts Rep. Chu Amendment to Help Small Contractors

Washington, D.C. – Today, the House Small Business Committee adopted an amendment introduced by Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) that would help guarantee small businesses are receiving an appropriate share of federal subcontracts. The amendment was offered during consideration of H.R. 1481, “The Small Contractors Improve Competition Act,” a bill that makes improvements to reduce contract bundling, limit reverse auctions, and ensure federal agencies are meeting their prime and subprime small business contracting goals.

Rep. Chu’s amendment requires the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to look at the new federal government subcontracting reporting system and assess whether it is operating with accurate data, and that it meets the current statutory requirements implemented by the Small Business Act. Rep. Chu released the following statement:

“The Federal Government awards billions of dollars in contracts and subcontracts to small businesses every year. But without appropriate means of tracking awards, there is no accountability to ensure that we are succeeding at reaching our goal. In 2013, for instance, small businesses received federal subcontracts worth approximately $86 billion. I am confident that if we accurately tracked subcontracting dollars, this number could be considerably higher. Considering that small businesses account for two out of every three new jobs, the result of better contracting policies could have real impact on growing our economy. I am glad that I was able to work with both parties in the Small Business Committee to advance this important amendment.”

The Small Business Committee passed H.R. 1481, The Small Contractors Improve Competition Act, unanimously by voice vote.