On March 5, the House Small Business Committee passed, by voice vote, the Women’s Procurement Program Equalization Act (H.R. 2452), sponsored by Ranking Member Nydia Velázquez (D-NY).
The bill would condition a government contracting officer’s authority to restrict competition for federal contracts upon the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) certification that the business is, in fact, owned and controlled by a woman. Currently the small business is allowed to make such a certification.
The bill provides guidelines for the award of sole-source contracts to economically disadvantaged women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) and WOSBs in substantially underrepresented industries.
The measure also would require federal agencies to submit annual reports to the SBA regarding such sole-source contracts, as well as the industries within which various contracts have been awarded.
