A wide-ranging executive order (EO) issued today by President Biden is aiming to boost opportunities for small businesses by directing all Federal agencies to promote greater competition in their procurement and spending decisions, although specific marching orders to agencies to accomplish that goal have not yet been spelled out.
“Today’s historic [EO] established a whole-of-government effort to promote competition in the American economy,” the EO fact sheet states. “The Order includes 72 initiatives by more than a dozen Federal agencies to promptly tackle some of the most pressing competition problems across our economy.”
The order seeks to improve competition and promote economic growth and innovation. According to the White House, fewer opportunities exist for small and independent businesses to access markets and earn a fair return. As a result, “economists find that as competition declines, productivity growth slows, business investment and innovation decline, and income, wealth, and racial inequality widen.”
The order says Federal agencies can help curb the decline in competition through providing more contracting opportunities for small and independent businesses. Details about how Federal agencies will be instructed to take action on that goal are not clear in the White House’s fact sheet released today.
“Today, President Biden is taking decisive action to reduce the trend of corporate consolidation, increase competition, and deliver concrete benefits to America’s consumers, workers, farmers, and small businesses,” the EO says.
