The Biden-Harris administration announced its latest actions last week to expand access for small businesses to the over $700 billion spent through Federal contracts each year, particularly for those owned by individuals from underrepresented communities.
These new initiatives – including guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) – advance President Biden’s goal of increasing the share of Federal contracting dollars going to small businesses owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SDBs) to 15 percent by fiscal year (FY) 2025, the White House said in a Jan. 25 fact sheet.
“In each of the last three fiscal years, the Administration has increased spending on contracts to small businesses on the way to this goal, with small businesses receiving nearly $163 billion in Federal contracting dollars in FY 2022, $70 billion of which was earned by SDBs,” the White House said.
OMB issued guidance last Thursday on strategies Federal agencies should adopt so that small businesses can participate in multiple-award contracts – a contract vehicle that accounts for nearly $160 billion, or over 20 percent, of all Federal government contract dollars.
To ensure that small businesses have opportunities to participate in multiple-award contracts, the new guidance encourages earlier engagement and planning for multiple-award contracts to maximize opportunities for small business contract holders; additional consideration of “on-ramps” to allow for businesses to be added during the performance period of the multiple-award contract; and the use of small business set aside orders for competition among small businesses.
“These changes will help more small businesses participate in Federal contracts, support a resilient Federal marketplace, and ensure Federal contracts are best delivering for the American people,” the White House said.
To diversify technical assistance opportunities for these organizations, the White House also announced that the Small Business Administration (SBA) will optimize its Empower to Grow (E2G) program, which is open to SDBs in low-income or high-unemployment areas.
Upgrades will include a customizable one-on-one training offering that will lead small businesses through the contract bidding process and host networking and matchmaking events between government organizations and prime contractors.
“In FY 2023, the E2G program provided support to 6,000 small businesses and helped 2,000 small businesses grow their participation in Federal contracting. Small businesses that received training reported, on average, a 45 percent increase in annual revenue,” the White House said.
These steps forward follow multiple small business-focused actions taken by the Biden administration in 2023, including the expansion of the SBA’s Small Business Lending Company program and the Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Initiative, among other efforts.
