United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-02-16 monographic deposited born digital 66 p. GA 1.13:GAO-01-346 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346 P0b002ee1803a4052 f:d01346 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346 GAO-01-346 Women-owned businesses Federal procurement Small business set-asides Small business contracts Small disadvantaged business contractors GSA Federal Procurement Data System SBA 8(a) Program SBA HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program SBA Women's Business Center Program Letter Report Procurement regulations implemented in 1996 mandated that women-owned small businesses (WOSB) receive 5 percent of governmentwide contracts. While the number of contracts awarded to WOSBs has increased more than four times as fast as other federal contracting efforts since 1996, the goal of awarding 5 percent of federal contracts to WOSBs has not been met. More agencies succeeded in meeting the WOSB subcontracting goal than their prime contracting goal. GAO found that three federal agencies, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of State, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, met or exceeded both goals in three of the four years it studied. Because the Department of Defense, which accounted for 64 percent of federal procurement in 1999, did not come close to achieving its 5 percent goal, the governmentwide goal for prime contracting with WOSBs could not have been met even if all other federal agencies reached their prime contracting goals. Government officials cited numerous obstacles to increasing federal contracting with WOSBs, including a reduced contracting personnel force and the absense of a targeted WOSB government program. These contracting officers offered suggestions for increasing WOSB participation in federal contracting, including a strengthened outreach program and expanded excess to contract financing. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346.pdf GAO-01-346 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-01-346 Letter Report GAO-01-346; Federal Procurement: Trends and Challenges in Contracting; Women-owned businesses Federal procurement Small business set-asides Small business contracts Small disadvantaged business contractors GSA Federal Procurement Data System SBA 8(a) Program SBA HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program SBA Women's Business Center Program Public Law 100-533 Public Law 103-355 Public Law 105-135 Public Law 106-50 Public Law 106-65 Public Law 106-165 Public Law 106-554