[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 97 (Tuesday, June 7, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H5256-H5258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM TRANSPARENCY ACT
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass
the bill (H.R. 7670) to amend the Small Business Act to require a
report on small business concerns owned and controlled by women, and
for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7670
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 ``Women-Owned Small Business
Program Transparency Act'' or the ``WOSB Program Transparency
Act''.
SEC. 2. REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND
CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.
(a) In General.--Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15
U.S.C. 637(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following
new paragraph:
``(9) Report.--Not later than May 1, 2023, and annually
thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee
on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the
Senate a report on small business concerns owned and
controlled by women. Such report shall include, for the
fiscal year preceding the date of the report, the following:
``(A) The total number of concerns certified as small
business concerns owned and
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controlled by women, disaggregated by the number of concerns
certified by--
``(i) the Administrator; or
``(ii) a national certifying entity approved by the
Administrator.
``(B) The amount of fees, if any, charged by each national
certifying entity for such certification.
``(C) The total dollar amount and total percentage of prime
contracts awarded to small business concerns owned and
controlled by women pursuant to paragraph (2) or pursuant to
a waiver granted under paragraph (3).
``(D) The total dollar amount and total percentage of prime
contracts awarded to small business concerns owned and
controlled by women pursuant to paragraphs (7) and (8).
``(E) With respect to a contract incorrectly awarded
pursuant to this subsection because it was awarded based on
an industry in which small business concerns owned and
controlled by women are not underrepresented--
``(i) the number of such contracts;
``(ii) the Federal agencies that issued such contracts; and
``(iii) any steps taken by Administrator to train the
personnel of such Federal agency on the use of the authority
provided under this subsection.
``(F) With respect to an examination described in paragraph
(5)(B)--
``(i) the number of examinations due because of
recertification requirements and the actual number of such
examinations conducted; and
``(ii) the number of examinations conducted for any other
reason.
``(G) The number of small business concerns owned and
controlled by women that were found to be ineligible to be
awarded a contract under this subsection as a result of an
examination conducted pursuant to paragraph (5)(B) or failure
to request an examination pursuant to section 127.400 of
title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor rule).
``(H) The number of small business concerns owned and
controlled by women that were decertified.
``(I) Any other information the Administrator determines
necessary.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--Section 8(m)(2)(C) of the Small
Business Act is amended by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and
inserting ``paragraph (4)''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
New York (Ms. Velazquez) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.
General Leave
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam 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 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. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7670, the Women-Owned
Small Business Program Transparency Act.
The Women-Owned Small Business program levels the playing field for
female entrepreneurs who compete for Federal contracts. Additionally,
it assists agencies in meeting the goal of awarding 5 percent of all
contracts to women-owned small businesses.
While the program has steadily improved, it has faced its fair share
of delays and challenges. For example, the program started operating 10
years after its enactment, and since its implementation 12 years ago,
the 5 percent goal has only been met twice.
The Small Business Administration implemented a formal certification
process for the program in 2020, more than 5 years after being required
to do so by Congress. As a result, while the agency is making great
strides, it still has a substantial backlog of applications and the
implementation of corresponding regulations--especially when it comes
to program examinations--remains to be seen.
The importance of the program to elevating women-owned small
businesses in the Federal procurement arena makes it imperative to
conduct oversight to ensure the program is meeting its legislative
intent. H.R. 7670 will aid Congress in this endeavor by establishing
reporting requirements to better assess the effectiveness of the
program.
In particular, H.R. 7670 requires the SBA to report on multiple
facets of the Women-Owned Small Business program, including the amount
of contracting dollars awarded through the program, the number of
certifications issued, the amount of program examinations conducted,
and much more.
I thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan) and the
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney) for their bipartisan work on
this bill. H.R. 7670 is a commonsense piece of legislation that will
bring transparency and accountability to the Women-Owned Small Business
program.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill,
and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I rise in support of H.R. 7670, the Women-Owned Small Business
Program Transparency Act.
Federal programs, and especially Federal contracting programs,
require comprehensive and complete reporting requirements from
executive branch agencies. This information ensures that not only the
programs are meeting congressional intent but also to ensure that
safeguards and oversight capabilities are intact.
H.R. 7670 bolsters the Women-Owned Small Business program by
enhancing the program's reporting requirements. Having more information
on how many women-owned small businesses are certified and the amount
of fees charged by third-party certifiers will only strengthen the
program.
I thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan) and the
gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney) for working in a bipartisan
manner to address the Women-Owned Small Business program. I also again
would like to thank the chair for advancing this bill.
H.R. 7670 is a good government bill that will provide more
information about one of the SBA's Federal contracting programs.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to
the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan).
Ms. HOULAHAN. Madam Speaker, I proudly rise today to urge my
colleagues to vote for my straightforward, bipartisan bill that
supports our Nation's female entrepreneurs. It is called the Women-
Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act.
As an engineer myself, and an entrepreneur and operator, I know very
much firsthand that data can help us to address and understand some of
our most pressing issues in business. Here is what the data says: Year
after year, women-owned small businesses continue to be
underrepresented when it comes to Federal contract funding. In other
words, the playing field isn't nearly level.
The good news is that there is already an initiative that is designed
to address this. It is called the Women-Owned Small Business Federal
Contracting Program. This program is popular and necessary to bridge
the disparity in Federal contracts, but it needs some additional
improvements.
My bill will do just that by increasing transparency, oversight, and
accountability. Through this program, the SBA aids other Federal
agencies in meeting the statutory goal of awarding 5 percent of Federal
contracts to women-owned businesses, a goal which the chairwoman
mentioned has only been met twice in history.
The program has experienced challenges, including a significant
backlog of applications and poor visibility of the approval numbers by
national certifying entities. Our bipartisan bill will address these
concerns by requiring the SBA to share six critical pieces of
information:
One, the amount of contracting dollars that are awarded.
Two, the number of certifications that are issued.
Three, the amount of program examinations that are conducted.
Four, the number of companies that are decertified.
Five, the number of contracts that are incorrectly awarded.
Simply put, this bill will allow Congress and the SBA to work
together to help women secure government contracts, especially those in
underrepresented industries, which include the signature crop of our
region, the mushroom industry, and also include underrepresented
industries such as the dairy product manufacturing industry, which is
represented by ByHeart, the only baby formula manufacturer that
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has been started in the last 15 years, that also happens to be in my
district.
The time is now for us to act, both as our female businessowners
continue to recover from the pandemic and as additional contracts are
issued through the historic implementation of the bipartisan
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague and fellow entrepreneur from
across the aisle, the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney) for her
partnership on this bill that will help level the playing field for all
female entrepreneurs across our country.
I also thank and extend my thanks to Chair Velazquez and Ranking
Member Luetkemeyer.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may
consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), the ranking
member of the Subcommittee on Underserved, Agriculture, and Rural
Business Development.
Ms. TENNEY. Madam Speaker, I am honored to partner with the
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan) to introduce the
bipartisan Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act. In 2014
and 2019, the Government Accountability Office found that the Women-
Owned Small Business program has several oversight deficiencies and
needs to release more in-depth performance metrics to ensure it
addresses the needs of women-owned small businesses and the taxpayer.
This legislation today addresses these concerns, requiring the Small
Business Administration to annually disclose the total number of
businesses that are certified as women-owned by the SBA, the number
certified by third-party certifiers, and fees charged by third-party
certifiers, the dollar amount and percent of contracts to women-owned
small businesses, and the information on contracts incorrectly awarded.
For over two decades, the Women-Owned Small Business program has set
aside at least 5 percent Federal contracting dollars for certified
women-owned small businesses. This plays a small, but important, part
of ensuring that the Federal Government does not leave our Nation's
small businesses behind and that we continue to have a robust and
competitive contractor ecosystem to pull from.
In New York's 22nd Congressional District, small businesses make up
94 percent of all employers, and I have witnessed firsthand the
tremendous impact of women-owned small businesses. In fact, my own
family business is a women-owned business. Whether it is Curcio
Printing in the Southern Tier or AeroMed Technologies in Utica, our
communities and, yes, our taxpayers benefit when women-owned businesses
thrive.
With these additional metrics available to policymakers, it will pave
the way for future improvements to the Women-Owned Small Business
program. Only through full transparency can we ensure that this program
works effectively and efficiently for small businesses and for
taxpayers.
I thank, again, my partner and colleague, the gentlewoman from
Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan), for cosponsoring this great piece of
bipartisan legislation, and I urge my colleagues to join us in
supporting this.
{time} 1645
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I
yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, it is important for Congress
to study all of the Small Business Administration's Federal contracting
programs regularly.
H.R. 7670, the Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act,
will enhance our research and assist us as we examine this program. The
more information that we have at our fingertips, simply the better.
Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to support this bill, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Madam Speaker, long after the enactment of the legislation to create
the Women-Owned Small Business Program, women still face inequities
when it comes to Federal contracting. The Women-Owned Small Business
Program tries to address these inequities.
Today, we have the opportunity to further this mission through H.R.
7670. This bill creates a reporting requirement through which to
measure whether the program is working as intended. I am certain that
this oversight mechanism will lead to increased transparency,
accountability, and efficiency to the benefit of our women-owned small
business community. That is why I thank our committee members for their
leadership in advancing this piece of legislation.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R.
7670, the ``Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act.''
H.R. 7670 is a bipartisan effort to amend the Small Business Act to
require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to
submit to Congress a report on small businesses owned and controlled by
women including:
Information as to the amount of contracting dollars awarded through
the program,
The number of certifications being issued,
The amount of program examinations being conducted,
The number of companies being decertified, and
The number of contracts incorrectly awarded to industries within the
North American Industry Classification System or NAICS codes ineligible
for the program, as well as any actions taken by SBA to properly train
agency personnel.
The SBA's report to the Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate will equip Congress with transparency
into the effectiveness of the program that will enable future
improvements to the program.
Established in 2000, the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program
leveled the playing field by providing an opportunity for women-owned
small businesses to attain federal contracts in industries where the
SBA had determined that women entrepreneurs were underrepresented.
Unfortunately, due to administrative neglect in the application
review and the application backlog from eligible businesses, many women
were shut out from attaining contracts.
Following the U.S. Government Accountability Office's investigation
into this matter, they concluded that ``By not improving its oversight
of the WOSB program, SBA is limiting its ability to ensure third-party
certifiers are following program requirements'', meaning that several
contracts that WOSBs had applied for were inaccessible to women.
When enacted, H.R. 7670 will reform the oversight of the WOSB program
to ensure that transparency and accountability are high priorities
during the contract distribution process.
I applaud the efforts of my colleagues Rep. Chrissy Houlahan and Rep.
Claudia Tenney for elevating the voices of all female entreprenuers
across America, including over 125,000 female small business owners
from Houston.
There has been a long history of women-owned small businesses being
excluded from consideration for federal contracts and participation in
subcontracting. The progress that women-owned small businesses had made
was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that lost ground must be
reversed so that women-owned businesses are able to remain competitive.
Now more than ever, it is critical for Congress to stand with
America's small business owners to whom we owe a great deal for our
economic prosperity.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R.
7670.
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. 7670.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.
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