[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 94 (Tuesday, June 3, 2025)]
[House]
[Pages H2396-H2398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRANSPARENCY AND PREDICTABILITY IN SMALL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES ACT
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 789) to require the Administrator of the Small
Business Administration to issue rules for cancelled covered
solicitations, to amend the Small Business Act to provide assistance to
small business concerns relating to certain cancelled solicitations,
and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 789
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 ``Transparency and
Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act''.
SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION RULES FOR CANCELLED
COVERED SOLICITATIONS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small
Business Administration shall issue rules as follows:
(1) Requiring disclosure of information about a covered
solicitation that was issued and cancelled that includes the
following:
(A) A justification for the cancellation of such covered
solicitation.
(B) Available information about any plans to reissue such
covered solicitation and any associated timeframes for such
reissuance.
(C) Available information about any plans to include the
requirements of such covered solicitation in another contract
or task order of the Federal agency.
(2) With respect to a cancelled covered solicitation which
the Federal agency does not intend to reissue, establishing
procedures for the referral of a small business concern (as
defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C.
632)) that prepared a bid for such covered solicitation to
the Director of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization
(as defined in section 15(k) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k)))
of the Federal agency for assistance in identifying similar
contracting opportunities.
(b) Publication.--The information required under subsection
(a) shall be made publicly accessible on the single,
Government-wide point of entry described under section 1708
of title 41, United States Code.
(c) Covered Solicitation Defined.--In this section, the
term ``covered solicitation'' means a solicitation of a
Federal agency for a procurement for which two or more small
business concerns were eligible to submit a bid.
SEC. 3. DUTIES FOR DIRECTORS OF OFFICES OF SMALL AND
DISADVANTAGED BUSINESS UTILIZATION RELATING TO
CERTAIN CANCELLED SOLICITATIONS.
Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 644(k))
is amended--
(1) in paragraph (21), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(22) shall, when notified by a small business concern
that a Federal agency cancelled a solicitation for which such
concern prepared a bid and such Federal agency does not
intend to reissue such solicitation, assist such concern with
identifying similar contracting opportunities.''.
SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
No additional funds are authorized to carry out the
requirements of this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Williams) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. McGarvey)
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 today in full support of H.R. 789, the
Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act,
introduced by Representatives Latimer, Alford, and Mfume.
H.R. 789 seeks to bring clarity to small business owners when
solicitations for contracts are canceled. Often, small businesses
devote a considerable amount of time and resources in preparing these
proposals for solicitations.
Unfortunately, these solicitations are often canceled by agencies
with no explanation provided to the businesses that have already
submitted proposals.
[[Page H2397]]
H.R. 789 will require agencies to share with the SBA information as
to why the solicitation was canceled. Moreover, this bill requires
agencies to assist small businesses impacted by the canceled
solicitation by identifying similar contracts to bid on.
Small businesses deserve to have a full understanding of what
opportunities are available to them and to know how agencies will
fulfill their buying needs.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 789, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Representatives Latimer, Alford,
and Mfume, for their work on this important legislation.
Mr. Speaker, prior to this administration, government contracts
provided small businesses with stability and predictability. The
government was considered a reliable partner that could be trusted to
keep its word and pay its bills.
Yet even before the chaos of the Trump administration, there were
times when requirements legitimately changed and something the
government intended to buy or do was no longer necessary.
In those previously rare instances, the government then canceled the
solicitation. Unfortunately, any small business working on a bid lost
all the time and money they had invested in the proposal.
Last year, a small business owner testified that it cost him an
average of $10,000 per proposal. If that solicitation was later
canceled, the government did not have to provide him with any
assistance or even any information.
This bill will change that. While we cannot make small businesses
whole, we can make sure they are given additional information and
assistance to help them adjust their operations and plans moving
forward and hopefully to continue their participation in the Federal
market.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1545
Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
New York (Mr. Latimer).
Mr. LATIMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McGarvey for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I recognize the colleagues who have joined me in leading
this bill, Congressman Alford of Missouri, Congressman Mfume of
Maryland, and Congresswoman Goodlander of New Hampshire. I appreciate
the opportunity to work together and to highlight why this important
legislation is needed.
Small business owners are often resource constrained. Every day,
these individuals play the role of salesman, compliance officer,
marketing professional, and more, often juggling a variety of business-
related activities to support their business.
When a small business owner submits a proposal to work with the
Federal Government, they invest considerable time and resources into
making their submission the best it can be. They are also forced to
navigate a complex and time-consuming contracting process while
balancing their other important responsibilities.
Last year, the Small Business Committee heard testimony from a small
business owner who said that solicitation proposals can cost a small
business upward of $10,000 worth of labor to draft, develop, review,
and execute.
With that in mind, it can be rightfully frustrating for a small
business owner if a Federal agency decides to cancel a solicitation
without transparency into why that decision has been made. Without
insight into how the decision was made, it can feel as though their
hard work and considerable investment to submit a proposal was made in
vain.
If we are serious about bringing more small businesses into Federal
contracting, then we must ensure that businessowners have confidence
and trust in their Federal partners. This bipartisan bill, the
Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act,
would improve accountability in the Federal contracting process for
small businesses.
The bill would require SBA to issue rules requiring that when an
agency cancels a solicitation, they must share a justification for why
they are canceling the solicitation and provide information about any
plans to reissue it. If an agency does not plan to reissue the
solicitation, then the bill would create procedures for a small
business to receive assistance in identifying similar contracting
opportunities.
This bill passed the Small Business Committee unanimously in March
and passed the House by voice vote in the last Congress. It is a
bipartisan and commonsense solution to help our small businesses more
successfully navigate the Federal contracting process.
Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues here to support this
important bill.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Alford).
Mr. ALFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair for yielding, and I thank
our friend from Kentucky for his leadership.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 789, the
Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act.
Small businesses aren't just part of our economy. They are our
economy, Mr. Speaker. They are the innovators, the job creators, the
backbone of our communities, and the heartbeat of Main Street America.
Far too often, as we have seen, they have been overlooked,
underserved, and, frankly, undermined by the very government they pay
taxes to support. Federal agencies are simply not doing enough to open
the door for small businesses to compete. Mr. Speaker, this must
change.
To do that, I am proud to co-lead this bipartisan bill because
supporting our small businesses should never be a Republican or
Democratic issue. It is an American issue, Mr. Speaker.
Here is what is happening: When a Federal agency determines they have
a need for certain products or services, then that agency's acquisition
personnel will post a solicitation on the Federal Government's SAM.gov
website for a contract to fill the requirements. That solicitation lays
out what the agency wants to buy, how it will evaluate the bids, and
when responses are due.
In good faith, small businesses dedicate precious time, money, and
resources, sometimes thousands of dollars, to just submit these
proposals. Too often, they are met with silence, confusion, or outright
cancelation of the solicitation without any explanation. That is not
just inefficient. That is unfair.
Agencies right now have broad discretion to cancel or amend
solicitations without any transparency whatsoever. A small business can
go all in on a contract proposal only to watch it vanish like that with
no reason given. That is unacceptable.
H.R. 789 brings much-needed transparency and accountability to this
process. It requires agencies to disclose why a solicitation was
canceled because our small businesses deserve to know. Additionally,
our bill requires a Federal agency's Office of Small Business and
Disadvantaged Business Utilization to help small businesses find
additional opportunities if a solicitation on which they made an offer
is canceled so that they can go after these opportunities.
Small businesses create most of the new jobs in this country. In
fact, in Missouri's Fourth Congressional District and in rural
communities across America, they are the lifeline and fabric of our
communities, but time and time again, they are squeezed out by
overregulation and ignored by the bureaucracy. They are pushed aside in
favor of corporations with high-paid consultants and armies of
lobbyists.
That is wrong, and by passing H.R. 789, we take a concrete step
toward restoring fairness in Federal contracting and rebuilding the
relationship between our government and the small businesses it is
supposed to serve.
I thank Congressmen Latimer and Mfume for their partnership on this
legislation. I also applaud the Small Business Committee chairman,
Roger Williams, for his leadership in putting Main Street America
first.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to
support the Transparency and Predictability in Small Business
Opportunities Act.
Mr. McGARVEY. Mr. Speaker, in closing, we know that providing a
little
[[Page H2398]]
more predictability and stability can help reduce the barriers that
keep small businesses from bidding on and winning government projects.
That is what this bill will do.
Mr. Speaker, again, I thank Mr. Latimer and Mr. Alford for their work
to bring this to the floor today and to increase transparency and
accountability for our small business government contractors. I urge my
colleagues to support it, as well, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support
this commonsense legislation, and 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. 789, 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.
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