[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 36 (Wednesday, February 28, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H722-H724]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            WOSB CERTIFICATION AND OPPORTUNITY EXPANSION ACT

  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 7105) to establish requirements relating to 
certification of small business concerns owned and controlled by women 
for certain purposes, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7105

       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 ``WOSB Certification and 
     Opportunity Expansion Act''.

     SEC. 2. EXCLUSION OF SELF-CERTIFIED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS 
                   OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN FROM GOALS.

       (a) Exclusion of Self-Certified WOSBs From Governmentwide 
     and Agency Goals.--
       (1) In general.--Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 644(g)) is amended by adding at the end the 
     following new paragraph:
       ``(4) Exclusion of self-certified wosbs from goals.--Only 
     small business concerns owned and controlled by women that 
     have been certified under section 8(m)(2)(E) shall be 
     included in calculating the goals established--
       ``(A) under paragraph (1)(A)(v); and
       ``(B) by the head of a Federal agency for small business 
     concerns owned and controlled by women under paragraph 
     (2).''.
       (2) Effective date.--The amendments made by paragraph (1) 
     shall take effect on the first day after the end of the 
     second fiscal year beginning after the Administrator issues 
     the regulations required under subsection (b)(2).
       (b) Requirements Relating to Self-Certified WOSBs.--
       (1) Inclusion of certain self-certified wosbs in goals.--
       (A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
     law, a small business concern described in subparagraph (B) 
     shall be deemed to have been certified by the Administrator 
     or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator 
     under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 
     637(m)) as a small business concern owned and controlled by 
     women under paragraph (2)(E) of such section (15 U.S.C. 
     637(m)(2)(E)) for the purposes of calculating the goals 
     described in paragraph (4) of section 15(g) of the such Act 
     (as added by subsection (a) of this Act) until the 
     Administrator or such a national certifying entity make a 
     determination with respect to the certification of such 
     concern.
       (B) Small business concerns described.--A small business 
     concern described in this subparagraph is a small business 
     concern--
       (i) that is self-certified as a small business concern 
     owned and controlled by women as of the date on which the 
     amendments made by subsection (a) take effect;
       (ii) that files a certification application with the 
     Administrator or a national certifying entity approved by the 
     Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act 
     (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) prior to such date; and
       (iii) for which the Administrator or such a national 
     certifying entity does not make a determination prior to such 
     date regarding certification pursuant to such certification 
     application.
       (2) Rulemaking.--Not later than one year after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue 
     regulations carrying out this section.
       (c) Quarterly Briefings Required.--Not later than 60 days 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act and on a 
     quarterly basis thereafter until the date specified in 
     subsection (b), the Administrator shall provide to the 
     Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives 
     and the Committee Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the 
     Senate a briefing on the implementation of the requirements 
     of this section. Such briefings shall include--
       (1) the total number of small business concerns expected to 
     seek certification as a small business concern owned and 
     controlled by women;
       (2) the number of applications for certification pending 
     with the Administrator or a national certifying entity 
     approved by the Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small 
     Business Act during the period covered by the briefing;
       (3) the total number of applications approved by the 
     Administrator or such a national certifying entity since the 
     date of the enactment of this Act;
       (4) the timelines associated with processing such 
     applications by the Administrator or such a national 
     certifying entity between submission and approval;
       (5) the administrative costs to the Administration to make 
     determinations on such applications and the estimated cost to 
     such applicant to seek certification from a national 
     certifying entity;
       (6) a discussion of the Administrator's current and future 
     outreach efforts to small business concerns owned and 
     controlled by women and to Federal agencies on the 
     requirements of this Act; and

[[Page H723]]

       (7) recommendations for additional legislative authority or 
     resources required to fully implement the requirements of 
     this Act.
       (d) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Administration.--The term ``Administration'' means the 
     Small Business Administration.
       (2) Administrator.--The term ``Administrator'' means the 
     Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
       (3) Small business concern.--The term ``small business 
     concern'' has the meaning given under section 3 of the Small 
     Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632).
       (4) Small business concern owned and controlled by women.--
     The term ``small business concern owned and controlled by 
     women'' has the meaning given the term in section 8(m) of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)).
       (e) Compliance With CUTGO.--No additional amounts are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act or the 
     amendments made by this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Williams) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. 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.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7105, the WOSB Certification 
and Opportunity Expansion Act, sponsored by the Committee on Small 
Business' Ranking Member Velazquez.
  One of the Committee on Small Business' top priorities is combating 
fraud and abuse within the government's contracting programs. Small 
business participation in Federal contracting ensures a strong and 
resilient industrial base.
  Congress sets a governmentwide goal to spend at least 5 percent of 
its procurement dollars with women-owned small businesses. However, 
since this goal contains self-certified firms, it is hard to tell the 
accuracy of the data. This bill would remove self-certified firms from 
this governmentwide goal. This will add accountability measures to make 
sure the businesses competing for these contracting dollars are not 
misrepresenting themselves.
  I was proud to work with the ranking member on this important piece 
of legislation. I urge all of my colleagues to vote for H.R. 7105 and 
ensure that certified women small business owners are not unfairly shut 
out of the Federal marketplace by fraudsters.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, empowering female entrepreneurs has long been a top 
priority of mine and enhancing the programs that impact the success of 
women-owned small businesses continues to guide my work on our 
committee.
  That is why I am pleased we are considering my legislation, the WOSB 
Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act, which, as amended, will 
improve and enhance the SBA's women-owned small business contracting 
program.
  The WOSB program is a valuable tool for Federal agencies to contract 
with small businesses that are owned by women. However, a number of 
factors hinder the program's effectiveness. These limitations then 
translate into reduced contracting opportunities.
  As a result, the data continues to show that women-owned small 
businesses are not seeing the contracting opportunities that should 
accompany the level of participation in the Federal marketplace.
  My bill will move away from self-certification and require Federal 
agencies to only count contracts awarded to certified WOSBs toward 
their procurement goals.
  This bill will help address a major concern that I regularly hear 
from WOSBs: that the program is more difficult to use than the other 
SBA programs, and that it is in part because WOSBs are not SBA 
certified.
  Stakeholders highlight that when combined with other confusing and 
cumbersome WOSB-specific requirements, the lack of SBA certification 
creates a risk that disincentivizes use of the authorities by 
contracting officers.

                              {time}  1715

  It is my hope that by moving more WOSBs through the SBA certification 
process, we will see Federal agencies more confidently and frequently 
set aside sole source contracts to women-owned small businesses.
  That has always been the goal of the WOSB program: to level the 
playing field for women in industries where they are underrepresented. 
My bill helps to do just that, and I urge all Members to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may 
consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. LaLota).
  Mr. LaLOTA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Williams for yielding me 
the time today and Ranking Member Velazquez, a fellow proud New Yorker, 
for leading this effort with me. It is a good day when Members of the 
same State delegation from different parties can work together to 
benefit New York's small businesses and small businesses throughout 
this great country of ours.
  Mr. Speaker, our bipartisan WOSB Certification and Opportunity 
Expansion Act would phase out self-certified, women-owned small 
businesses from the governmentwide procurement goals. In doing so, this 
bill would achieve two main things. It will protect the integrity of 
the women-owned small business program, and it will prevent the abuse 
of Federal small business contracting goals.
  Self-certification, according to the SBA Office of Inspector General 
and others, presents significant risks of fraud and impedes the 
progress of businesses which rightfully qualify. While others can self-
certify, women small business owners in the SBA's women-owned small 
business program undergo a certification program to ensure that only 
women-owned firms enter.
  This bill aligns the women-owned small business program with similar 
programs that no longer count self-certified firms in the SBA's goals. 
A similar provision phasing out self-certified service-disabled 
veteran-owned small businesses from the procurement goals passed in the 
FY24 NDAA.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to 
support the WOSB Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act.
  Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield 
myself the balance of my time to close.
  Mr. Speaker, I have drafted this bill in a way that I believe ensures 
women-owned small businesses will not be harmed during the transition 
away from self-certification and that Congress has the tools necessary 
to conduct oversight of that transition.
  There are sufficient protections built into the legislation so that 
women-owned firms are not penalized and specifically will not lose 
contracts if issues arise during implementation. Utilizing WOSBs in our 
Federal marketplace is critical for their success and the success of 
our national economy.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this important 
bill to enhance the WOSB program, bolster its use, and provide female 
entrepreneurs with additional opportunities for success. I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support 
this commonsense legislation from Ranking Member Velazquez and 
Congressman LaLota. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 7105, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

[[Page H724]]

  

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