[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 74 (Thursday, May 26, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S3439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ENZI (for himself and Mr. Casey):
  S. 1110. A bill to amend the Small Business Act to permit agencies to 
count certain contracts toward contracting goals; to the Committee on 
Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
  Mr. ENZI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Small Business 
Fairness Act. I want to first thank my colleague Senator Casey from 
Pennsylvania for cosponsoring this important legislation with me. 
Promoting small business is not a Republican or a Democrat issue; it is 
an economic issue that is of even more importance as we consider ways 
to help improve our Nation's job situation. This bill is just one of 
many efforts that I hope Congress can consider this year that will help 
promote the needs of our small businesses on Main Street.
  This particular issue involves a rule currently in place that 
prevents agencies from counting their government procurement contracts 
toward their statutory obligations if a small business is a member of a 
cooperative or association of other small businesses. While the rule 
was well intended when it was written, it likely never anticipated the 
growth of small businesses that pool their resources into teaming 
agreements to compete for large government contracts.
  This bill, the Small Business Fairness Act, helps address this issue. 
The Internet and other resources in recent years have helped small 
businesses identify and partner with other businesses to make 
competitive bids for government contracts. Not every small business can 
meet the contracting needs of federal agencies, however, as a group 
they can often offer competitive bids for some of the largest 
government contracts being offered. We know that the Federal Government 
is one of the largest consumers of products and it is only right to 
make sure our small businesses can group with other small businesses 
for their own mutual benefit. The bill is specifically designed to 
ensure that agencies can do business through teaming agreements with 
small businesses that qualify through the Small Business Administration 
as socially or economically disadvantaged firms. This includes 
businesses owned by service-disabled veterans, women-owned small 
businesses and firms located in qualified HUBZones. Without this bill, 
an agency can do business with a small entity through a teaming 
agreement but cannot count that business towards its statutory 
obligations for small business set-asides.
  As a former small business owner and a member of the Small Business 
Committee, I am a firm believer that small businesses should be able to 
access government contracts. These contracts help businesses diversify 
and offer new opportunities for their products. That is why for over 9 
years I have helped to host a Procurement Conference in Wyoming where 
contactors can meet with our State's small businesses to ensure the 
Federal Government gets the goods and services they need.
  This bill is a step in the right direction to help our small 
businesses and I look forward to opportunities to discuss this and 
other efforts that help our small businesses succeed.
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