[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 23, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Page 43566]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-18724]


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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION


Guidelines on Goal Setting Under Procurement Preference Programs

AGENCY: Small Business Administration (SBA).

ACTION: Notice; request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) must ensure that 
agencies establish goals for small business procurement that 
collectively, meet or exceed the governmentwide goals established by 
the Small Business Act in section 15 (g)(1) and (2). It is the policy 
of the Federal government to ensure that small businesses have maximum 
practicable opportunity to participate in Federal procurement. SBA is 
responsible for implementing the goaling program, assisting Federal 
agencies in establishing and obtaining the goals, and publishing 
quality information to the public. We are committed to making the 
methods, models, and processes that produce these results transparent 
and rigorous.
    In summary, we are proposing these Goaling Guidelines to implement 
the recommendations made by GAO in August 2001 and as a continuation of 
our commitment to meeting our responsibility to implement the Small 
Business Preference Goaling Program in a user friendly manner. We 
welcome the opportunity for the Federal agencies and the public to 
comment on our proposed Goaling Guidelines.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

SUMMARY: The Small Business Act establishes governmentwide goals and 
requires all Federal agencies with procurement authority to negotiate 
goals annually with SBA to ensure that small businesses receive maximum 
opportunity for participation in Federal contracts. Statutory 
governmentwide goals based on the value of all prime contract awards 
are:
    [sbull] 23 percent for small business;
    [sbull] 5 percent for small disadvantaged small business;
    [sbull] 5 percent for women-owned small business;
    [sbull] 3 percent for service-disabled, veteran-owned small 
business; and
    [sbull] 3 percent for certified HUBZone small businesses (FY 2003).
    (FY 1999--1 percent, FY 2000--1.5 percent, FY 2001--2 percent,
    FY 2002--2.5 percent, FY 2003 and beyond--3 percent).
    Subcontracting goals based on the value of subcontract awards are:
    [sbull] 5 percent for small disadvantaged small business;
    [sbull] 5 percent for women-owned small business; and
    [sbull] 3 percent for service-disabled, veteran-owned small 
business.
    SBA is required to obtain procurement data on achievements towards 
those goals and to publish an annual report to the President and the 
Congress that is also included in the State of Small Business report. 
As part of this mandate, SBA issues Goaling Guidelines that provide 
policy direction to the various Federal agencies pertaining to 
establishing annual goals, reporting procurement activity and 
submitting corrective action plans when goals are not met under the 
small business procurement preference programs. They provide procedures 
and timelines for the SBA to negotiate goals with each agency so that 
collectively the government-wide goals are established. The Goaling 
Guidelines, by which SBA manages the goaling program, must be updated 
periodically. Further, this document includes information on the 
statutory government-wide small business goals.
    The current Goaling Guidelines were last revised in FY 2000 and are 
published on SBA's Web site at www.sba.gov/GC/goals.
    In August 2001, the General Accounting Office (GAO) reviewed SBA's 
Goaling Program. (Small Business: More Transparency Needed in Prime 
Contract Goal Program. GAO-01-551. August 2001.) On pages 3 and 17, GAO 
recommended that the Goaling Guidelines be revised to ensure clarity, 
transparency and consistency. The recommendations require SBA to:
    (1) Clearly communicate its goal-setting methodology,
    (2) ensure that all agencies have an opportunity to negotiate goals 
for fiscal year 2002 and subsequent years,
    (3) re-assess its rationale for making certain types of exclusions, 
and
    (4) clarify its guidance on small business goals.
    Each of the GAO recommendations is addressed in the proposed 
Goaling Guidelines. We believe the proposed revisions clarify SBA's 
goaling policies and provide transparency to the agencies and the 
public. SBA has posted the proposed Goaling Guidelines discussed in 
this Notice on its Web site at www.sba.gov/GC/goals. Click on the 
``Proposed Goaling Guidelines'' button.

DATES: Comments of publication in the Federal Register must be received 
by 30 days from date of publication in the Federal Register.

ADDRESSES: Address comments to Linda G. Williams, Associate 
Administrator for Government Contracting, Small Business 
Administration, 409 Third St., SW., Suite 8100, Washington, DC 20416. 
Send e-mail to [email protected]. You may also submit comments 
electronically to http://www.regulations.gov.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pat Holden, National Goaling Program 
Manager, Small Business Administration, 409 Third St., SW., Suite 8000, 
Washington, DC 20416. Telephone (202) 205-6460 or by e-mail to 
[email protected].


    Authority: Sec. 21, Pub. L. 507, 92 Stat. 1757; Sec 502(3), Pub. 
L. 100-656, 102 Stat. 3881; Sec. 7106(a)(2)(c), Pub. L. 103-355, 108 
Stat. 3375; Sec. 221, Pub. L. 5-507.

    Dated: July 17, 2003.
Fred C. Armendariz,
Associate Deputy Administrator, for Government Contracting and Business 
Development.
[FR Doc. 03-18724 Filed 7-22-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8023-01-P