[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1928]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           BUILDING BETTER BUSINESS PARTNERSHIPS ACT OF 2012

  (Mr. SCHILLING asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SCHILLING. Mr. Speaker, when small businesses compete for 
government contracts, the government saves billions of dollars, and 
thousands of private sector jobs are created through these investments. 
However, the process of contracting can be needlessly time-consuming 
and onerous for small businesses to navigate. Last year, the Federal 
Government failed to meet the requirement for contracts awarded to 
small businesses. This complicated procurement procedure is hindering 
job creation and slowing our economic recovery.
  Last week I introduced--along with my colleague, Representative Judy 
Chu from California--H.R. 3985, Building Better Business Partnerships 
Act of 2012. H.R. 3985 focuses on improving and streamlining mentor-
protege programs which pair new businesses looking to increase their 
government contracts with more experienced businesses. My bill will 
make mentor-protege programs more efficient and successful by placing 
the SBA in charge of overseeing and setting standards for programs 
based on what we know works. Ultimately, H.R. 3985 will make it easier 
for small business firms to compete.

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