[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
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(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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