[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 8, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H270-H271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CLARITY ON SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN CATEGORY MANAGEMENT ACT OF 
                                  2019

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 226) to amend the Small Business Act to include best in 
class designations in the annual report on small business goals 
prepared by the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and 
for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                H.R. 226

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Clarity on Small Business 
     Participation in Category Management Act of 2019''.

     SEC. 2. INCLUSION OF BEST IN CLASS DESIGNATIONS IN ANNUAL 
                   REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS GOALS.

       Section 15(h) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(h)) 
     is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Best in class small business participation 
     reporting.--
       ``(A) Addendum.--The Administrator, in addition to the 
     requirements under paragraph (2), shall include in the report 
     required by such paragraph, for each best in class 
     designation--
       ``(i) the total amount of spending Governmentwide in such 
     designation;
       ``(ii) the number of small business concerns awarded 
     contracts and the dollar amount of such contracts awarded 
     within each such designation to each of the following--

       ``(I) qualified HUBZone small business concerns;
       ``(II) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     women;
       ``(III) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     service-disabled veterans; and
       ``(IV) small business concerns owned and controlled by 
     socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

       ``(B) Best in class defined.--The term `best in class' has 
     the meaning given such term by the Director of the Office of 
     Management and Budget.
       ``(C) Effective date.--The Administrator shall report on 
     the information described by subparagraph (A) beginning on 
     the date that such information is available in the Federal 
     Procurement Data System, the System for Award Management, or 
     any successor to such systems.''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from 
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.


                             General Leave

  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include 
extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from New York?
  There was no objection.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 226, the Clarity on 
Small Business Participation in Category Management Act of 2019.
  Let me begin by welcoming back Ranking Member Chabot to this new 
Congress. I have been privileged to serve on the Small Business 
Committee for two decades and appreciate the relationship the ranking 
member and I have cultivated. I look forward to working with him on 
this bill and others as we remain steadfast in our efforts to ensure 
small businesses have the resources to thrive now and in the future.
  Our committee has long acknowledged small businesses' critical role 
in the $500 billion a year Federal marketplace. When small firms are 
awarded Federal contracts, the result is a win-win.
  Category management is believed by some to be the best strategy to 
get agencies the lowest price, but my committee has heard otherwise, 
and the data backs this up. Small contractors on the multiple award 
schedule consistently provide lower prices to agencies than those 
offered through category management.
  Despite this, agencies have increased the use of category management, 
which not just increases costs to the Federal Government but also 
limits contracts to small vendors. In our committee hearings last year, 
we heard that more and more contracts are being consolidated and put 
out of the reach of small businesses as a result of category 
management.
  This bill is a commonsense first step to address the need of small 
vendors, particularly minority-, women-, and veteran-owned small 
businesses, to remain competitors in the Federal marketplace. By 
requiring that contracting activity under this new regime of category 
management be reported in the annual goaling report from agencies to 
Congress, today's bill protects the industrial base by creating a 
mechanism for much-needed accountability.
  H.R. 226 gives us the ability to analyze the data so that we can 
truly understand the role category management is playing in the 
marketplace and make changes accordingly.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to offer this bill to provide accountability 
to the category management regime. I urge Members to support this 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 226, the Clarity on Small 
Business Participation in Category Management Act of 2019.
  I thank Chairwoman Velazquez for working with us in a bipartisan 
manner on this bill, as we have done over the years on a whole range of 
other bills, whether the Democrats are in the majority or the 
Republicans are in the majority. On this committee, Ms. Velazquez and I 
have been able to work in a bipartisan manner, and we appreciate that 
very much on this bill and many other things as well.
  Category management is a procurement initiative that is being adopted 
across the Federal Government. If implemented properly, it can be a 
beneficial tool, allowing the government to better understand its 
purchasing habits and identify cost savings, where appropriate.
  However, as we discovered in a full committee hearing that we held on 
this topic last Congress, setting mandatory targets to manage agency 
spending may result in unintended consequences that could impact the 
small business industrial base.
  Specifically, this initiative may inadvertently reduce competition to 
only a few vendors and may discourage new and emerging small businesses 
from entering the Federal marketplace.
  As a result, we may see a decrease in competition and an exodus of 
small businesses from the Federal contracting base. We should ensure 
that maximum opportunities are given to small businesses as we continue 
to pursue cost savings across the Federal Government.
  While I applaud the administration's efforts to reduce waste and 
identify areas where savings could be achieved, when we do so, we 
should try to avoid harming small businesses whenever possible.
  H.R. 226 takes a first step toward assessing the impacts of category 
management on small businesses by requiring the Small Business 
Administration to report exactly how much is awarded to small 
businesses through the best in class contracts. Establishing this 
baseline and regularly monitoring these numbers is critical.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), the chairman of the Committee on Homeland 
Security.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Ms. 
Velazquez, for yielding me the time.
  Mr. Speaker, we are currently on the 18th day of President Trump's 
government shutdown. On a daily basis, the economic harm of the 
shutdown is being felt more acutely by small businesses in the Federal 
marketplace than their larger competitors. In contrast to large firms, 
small firms often rely on just a few contracts to provide a large 
portion of their annual revenue. As such, many report that, during the 
shutdown, they may have to lay off staff

[[Page H271]]

  Small firms are projected to lose out on nearly $301 million daily in 
new contract work because agencies cannot enter into new contracts 
during the shutdown.
  I urge the President to put America first and agree to reopen the 
government.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 226, the Clarity on Small 
Business Participation and Category Management Act of 2019. H.R. 226 
seeks to improve reporting on small business participation in Federal 
contracting.
  This legislation requires the Small Business Administration to report 
to Congress on the number of small businesses awarded best in class 
contracts and the dollar amount of such contracts. This information 
should help us get answers regarding how category management impacts 
the participation of small businesses, including minority-owned, women-
owned, and veteran-owned companies, in the Federal marketplace.
  Market research has shown that past contract consolidation efforts by 
the Federal Government have decreased the number of small prime 
contracting opportunities in the Federal workplace. In fiscal year 
2017, the percentage of contracting dollars that went to small 
businesses was 24 percent, down from 26 percent in fiscal year 2015. As 
such, concerns about the impact of category management on small 
businesses are understandable.
  As a longtime advocate for small businesses, I am pleased to 
cosponsor this legislation, and I thank the gentlewoman from New York 
for bringing this bill forward.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support small businesses by 
voting in favor of this legislation.
  Mr. CHABOT. Mr. Speaker, before I address just some final points 
about this bill, I have to respond a bit to the gentleman from 
Mississippi relative to the shutdown, which we all hope will be 
resolved as soon as possible.
  I don't think anybody in this body wants portions of the government 
to shut down and people not to be paid during that period of time. 
Hopefully, they will be paid in the future, but we don't necessarily 
want to pay people for not working, because we don't want them not to 
be working in the first place. So we need to get the government back 
open.
  That being said, at this point, there is a standoff because the 
President and many Members in this body and in the other body believe 
that it is time for us to enhance our border security, and that is one 
of the principal issues right now and why the government is not open 
completely. Most of the government is open. It is a relatively small 
portion. However, any portion of the government that is closed is too 
much.
  But we do have folks who have been coming across illegally at our 
southern border, and many believe that we do need to enhance the 
security at that border. Part of that is a wall, or barrier, or 
substantial fencing, or one thing or another--whatever you want to call 
it--and we need do that. We owe it to the American people to do that. 
So with that being said, I will just leave it there.
  Mr. Speaker, I do believe that we ought to be looking to save 
taxpayer dollars in the procurement process, and category management 
may be a tool to do just that. However, we must maintain a vibrant 
industrial base that has a healthy and growing population of small 
firms to increase competition, spur innovation, and drive down costs.
  This commonsense bill increases oversight on the administration's 
efforts to streamline the procurement process and aims to ensure small 
firms are not harmed in that process.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, let me just respond to the gentleman's 
comment regarding the shutdown. The fact of the matter is that the 
President campaigned and told the American people that he will build a 
wall and that it will be paid for by the Government of Mexico, and that 
is not what he is telling us now.
  Besides, this is the President's shutdown, and he was very proud when 
he made that comment to Speaker Pelosi and the minority leader, Chuck 
Schumer.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud of this important legislation to provide 
much-needed oversight of small business participation in the 
streamlined acquisition strategy known as category management.

                              {time}  1715

  H.R. 226 requires that contracting activity under this new regime be 
reported in the annual goaling report from agencies to Congress. This 
data would allow us to better understand how small firms fare under 
this new system and make adjustments if needed to guarantee an 
equitable playing field.
  This bill protects the small business industrial base by giving a 
mechanism for much-needed accountability. It is supported by the 
National Small Business Association, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and 
the National Electrical Contractors Association, which is the voice of 
the $171 billion electrical construction industry.
  I thank the ranking member for his support of H.R. 226, and I remain 
committed to ensuring small firms are competitive within the Federal 
marketplace.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 226, the 
``Clarity on Small Business Participation in Category Management,'' 
which amends the Small Business Act.
  This act would require the Administrator of the Small Business 
Administration to provide in its business goal report information as to 
how many small businesses are participating in the ``best in class'' 
vehicles so Congress can ascertain the effectiveness of such 
contracting vehicles for small firms.
  H.R. 226 amends ``the Small Business Act to include best in class 
designations in the annual report on small business goals prepared by 
the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, and for other 
purposes.''
  The report is to include among other things, the number of small 
business concerns awarded contracts and the dollar amount of such 
contracts awarded within each such designation to qualified HUBZone 
small business concerns, small business concerns owned and controlled 
by women, small business concerns owned and controlled by service-
disabled veterans, and small business concerns owned and controlled by 
social and economically disadvantaged individuals.
  Mr. Speaker, 99.9 percent of women-owned businesses are small 
businesses, whereas the majority of male- and female-owned employer 
businesses have fewer than five employees, more male-owned small 
businesses employ five or more employees.
  Of the 30 million small businesses nationwide, 8 million are owned by 
minorities.
  Between 2007 and 2012 minority owned small businesses increased in 
volume by around 38 percent.
  Small businesses ``are the engines of job creation in the United 
States.''
  Small businesses contribute to growth and vitality in many important 
areas of economic and socioeconomic development.
  Small businesses create jobs and job opportunities, spark innovation, 
and provide opportunities for women and minorities to achieve financial 
success and independence.
  For these reasons, I ask my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 
226.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 226.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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