Small Business Contracting Transparency Act of 2023

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to vote for my bipartisan and very much commonsense legislation, the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, that will help level the playing field for underrepresented entrepreneurs across the country.

I thank my Republican colleague, Representative Pete Stauber, for his partnership on this legislation. Furthermore, I thank Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velazquez for their leadership in advancing this legislation through the Small Business Committee on a unanimous basis. I thank them for me being able to stand on their shoulders on this.

As a former entrepreneur myself, I understand the many challenges that come with running and scaling a business. Every day brings a unique challenge. I regularly hear from businessowners in my own community, in Pennsylvania's Sixth District, who are navigating inflation, supply chain challenges, workforce needs, and so much more.

One way that our Federal Government can help protect entrepreneurs is to address these issues and ultimately succeed. One way they can do that is by providing contracting opportunities for small business owners. For entrepreneurs who are seeking to do business with our Federal Government, I know that every single contract secured or lost can be the difference in keeping Americans on their payroll or losing them, expanding or scaling back their operations, or beating or missing their projections.

That is why the Federal small business contracting programs are so very important. Through these programs, the Federal Government maintains its various statutory goals that ensure equitable participation by small businesses, and importantly, by underrepresented small businesses in Federal contracting.

Across various agencies, the Federal Government aims to provide 5 percent of Federal prime contracts to women-owned small businesses, 3 percent to service-disabled veteran-owned businesses, and 3 percent to the Historically Underutilized Business Zone, otherwise known as HUBZone, small businesses, as well.

While figures like 5 percent or 3 percent may not sound a whole lot like large targets, our Federal Government, unfortunately, struggles regularly to meet them.

Indeed, in fiscal year 2022, the Federal Government failed to reach its target goals for both women-owned businesses and HUBZone small businesses, as well. Even more troubling, the Federal Government has only met the statutory goal of awarding 5 percent of contracts to women-owned businesses twice in the last 23 years.

In addition, the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, has cited deficiencies in the Small Business Administration's oversight of the program.

It is clear that disadvantaged entrepreneurs continue to be underrepresented when it comes to Federal contract funding, and that is hurting the economy, both at a micro level and at a macro or national level. It is well past time that Congress is able to act to ensure that these programs are working as they were designed and intended to do.

That is why I introduced my bill, H.R. 4670, the bipartisan Small Business Contracting Transparency Act. My legislation will increase transparency, oversight, and will increase accountability of the Small Business Administration's Women-Owned, Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned, and HUBZone Small Business Contracting programs.

Notably, this bill requires the SBA to submit to Congress annual reports that benchmark critical data, including: the number of small businesses that are certified, the total dollar amount of contracts awarded to qualifying businesses, and the number of contracts that are incorrectly awarded to ineligible recipients, among other figures, as well.

Simply put, my bill, the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, will allow Congress and the SBA to improve these Federal contracting programs to ensure that these programs run efficiently and to ultimately benefit disadvantaged entrepreneurs in their pursuit of securing government contracts. In turn, we will strengthen our economy, we will support Main Streets all over in every ZIP Code, and we will grow the middle class.

The time to act is now, especially as the Federal Government works to award additional contracts through this historic implementation of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act, the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my Republican colleague, Representative Pete Stauber, for his partnership in this really important legislation. Once again, I thank Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velazquez for their leadership in this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this Small Business Contracting Transparency Act that will

help level the playing field for entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania, and indeed, across the Nation, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4668, the Providing Opportunities to Show Transparency via Information Technology Act, also known simply as the POST IT Act.

It has been an honor to co-lead this bill with Congressman Molinaro to increase transparency in the small business space. Most Americans want more transparency from our government. This is an easy, straightforward, and bipartisan bill.

It is critical that Federal agencies produce smart, well-crafted regulations. I hear all the time from small business owners across different sectors in west Michigan that they want to comply and follow rules and regulations, but they need clear guidance. Far too often, it is hard to find.

Federal regulations can be a nightmare to navigate for small businesses who often serve as founder, CEO, president, store clerk, janitor, CPA, and attorney all in the same day. Most small businesses don't have attorneys, accountants, or compliance departments to learn and track all Federal regulations to make sure that they remain in compliance. That is why it is imperative on the agencies themselves that are setting the regulations to make sure that these regulations are open, available, and as easy as possible to follow and understand.

I am proud to cosponsor this bill with Congressman Molinaro. This bill will help small businesses stay in compliance with Federal regulations by making compliance information from the Federal agencies easier to locate.

Specifically, this bill requires that Federal agencies post guidance on the Small Business Administration's Office of the National Ombudsman's website for any rule that has a significant impact on a small business. It seems pretty easy, doesn't it?

Now more than ever, as our Nation's small businesses are recovering from a global pandemic and are dealing with widespread worker shortages and rising inflation, it is our duty as lawmakers to take unnecessary hurdles for small business owners out of the way, whether that is increasing access to capital, ensuring access to technical assistance for SBA programs, or making sure that Federal regulations are easy to understand.

I am working hard in the Small Business Committee to keep Main Street alive and thriving. It is great to partner with Congressman Molinaro in that effort.

Before I close, let me say a few words about another bill on suspension today, H.R. 4670, the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, by Representative Houlahan, of which I am an original cosponsor and have been proud to help usher through the Small Business Committee, where I serve as the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure.

This bill would ensure that the SBA is acquiring up-to-date data on where Federal procurement dollars are going. In addition, this data will inform my committee's work to ensure that all small businesses are able to compete in the Federal procurement space.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership and yielding for this important bill. I also extend my appreciation to the ranking member, my colleague from the great State of New York, for her ongoing support. I am proud to speak to this bill this afternoon.

Small businesses know that, all too often, more than perhaps any other in this country, when it comes to Federal regulations and the Federal Government, the left hand not only doesn't know what the right hand is doing but the left hand doesn't know there is a right hand. Because of that, it creates a great deal of burden and confusion for small businesses.

My bill, H.R. 4668, the POST IT Act, is an important step to make it easier for small business owners to comply with Federal regulations that might otherwise be difficult for them to locate in the first place and then to understand.

I am grateful to Ms. Scholten for working together with me on this bill.

This bipartisan legislation simply requires Federal agencies to post follow-up guidance on the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman's website for any regulation that will have a significant impact on small businesses.

While there are official guidance documents that are released when rules are initially finalized, over time, agencies often release additional materials related to compliance. This leads to updated policy statements and technical clarifications that ultimately lead to a labyrinth of regulatory confusion and oversight by enforcement.

The POST IT Act ensures these updates will be housed in a centralized location so small business owners can worry less about abiding by government regulations and focus more on running their businesses, employing our neighbors, and investing in our communities.

There are over 33 million small businesses in the United States of America, which, as we all know and celebrate often, serve as the backbone of the American economy.

The thousands of small businesses I represent in upstate New York are vitally important to our communities, supporting local services through their taxes paid, supporting employees and their families, and making an honest living for themselves.

If Federal agencies are going to create new regulations for small businesses to comply with, we should seek to make it easier for them to understand and follow those rules, to relieve them of that burden so they are not further burdened with confusing requirements. This commonsense bipartisan legislation will help small businesses avoid unnecessary headaches.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Ms. Scholten, for her leadership on this bill. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4668) to amend the Small Business Act to require the Small Business and Agriculture Regulatory Enforcement Ombudsman to publish guidance documents for certain rules, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise in full support of H.R. 4668, also known as the POST IT Act, introduced by Representative Molinaro of the great State of New York.

Small business owners face some of the biggest challenges in understanding how to comply with Federal regulations. Oftentimes, small businesses are hiring compliance officers, which are a drag on their bottom lines, rather than focusing on their core business model and looking for growth opportunities.

This legislation would make it easier for small businesses to track the ever-changing agency guidelines on how to comply with any given regulation. The POST IT Act requires agencies to post their guidance, and all subsequent changes on how to comply, in a centralized location on the SBA's Office of the National Ombudsman's website.

Businesses should not have to search through many different websites to try to find all the latest information on how to comply with any given requirement. If an agency updates a regulation or puts out more information, it should be easily accessible for any business to look up.

I hope this bill is just the first step in much-needed regulation modernization efforts in the committee. We have seen far too many new requirements coming from government agencies that are hurting our Nation's job creators. As businesses continue to deal with high interest rates and elevated inflation, we should not be adding additional costs in the form of new regulations.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Molinaro for leading this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro).

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

H.R. 4668 is a step in the right direction to lessening the regulatory burden placed on our Nation's small businesses.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Molinaro for his work on this crucial piece of legislation, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in creating a regulatory environment that allows Main Street America to thrive.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4670) to amend the Small Business Act to require reporting on additional information with respect to small business concerns owned and controlled by women, qualified HUBZone small business concerns, and small business concerns owned and controlled by veterans, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I support H.R. 4670, the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, introduced by Congressman Stauber from the great State of Minnesota.

The U.S. Government is one of the largest customers in the world. They contract out purchases of things as simple as office supplies to complicated rockets that go into space. Each year, the government sets a contracting goal that they look to hit so that small businesses can help service the various needs of the Federal Government.

To be considered a small business in contracting, there are certain verification procedures to ensure that a small business does, in fact, qualify. It would be problematic if larger corporations were posing as small businesses in order to compete for some of the small business set-aside contracts.

For some of these small business categories, the businessowner simply gets to self-certify that they are who they say the business represents. For others, the Small Business Administration or third- party entities do a more rigorous certification process.

Since there isn't a uniform process to verify the small businesses are who they claim to be, it calls into question the accuracy of the contracting data that we receive. The Small Business Contracting Transparency Act brings much-needed insight into these certification activities and whether the SBA is meeting its requirements.

Mr. Speaker, I applaud Congressman Stauber for introducing this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4670 provides a necessary check on the SBA as it brings much needed insight into certification activities verifying small business contractors and provides further transparency.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representatives Stauber and Houlahan for leading this bill. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take a page out of our playbook and put politics aside to unanimously pass