On July 22, during consideration of a bill (H.R. 3070) to reauthorize the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) through FY2007, Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) offered an amendment that would require the administrator to submit a report to Congress on the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization. The report would include information on the office’s outreach activities and their impact on the participation of small businesses, including those owned by women and minorities, in NASA contracts. The House approved the amendment by voice vote.
Explaining that NASA ranks third behind the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture in terms of procurement volume, Rep. Velazquez stated, “Clearly, NASA has the capability to meet their small business goals; however, they do need some assistance and we have no way to evaluate whether or not their efforts in increasing small business contracts are truly yielding results. This agency has an array of options when it comes to identifying small companies, whether they work with them individually, host national conferences, or connect with the SBA [Small Business Administration] to identify contracting possibilities. But whatever they are doing is not yielding an increase in small business contracts.” She added, “My amendment would guarantee that these outreach methods are examined so that we can pinpoint the best way for NASA to reach out to small firms. This would allow us to truly see what works, what does not work, and what industries are more likely to successfully penetrate NASA’s procurement opportunities. It will also enable the Small Business Committee and the Science Committee to move forward in ensuring NASA is taking the right steps to meet their small business contracting goal.”
