The White House unveiled additional steps to help small and disadvantaged businesses on Friday, including extending access to federal contracts, offering targeted technical assistance, and boosting transparency in government spending.
The programs aim to make it easier to access the $700 billion in federal contracts that are awarded each year.
This statement comes ahead of Small Business Saturday, an annual event that encourages Americans to support local small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The key actions include new guidance from the Office of Management and Budget encouraging agencies to simplify small businesses’ access to high-value contracts and improve strategies such as multiple-award contracts by improving forecasting of upcoming federal contracting opportunities so that small businesses can compete with larger companies.
The Small Business Administration will also redesign its “Empower to Grow” program to provide tailored technical assistance and networking opportunities to businesses pursuing federal contracts.
Two current requirements for small enterprises are that they be located in areas with high unemployment or low income and be owned by low-income individuals.
The Office of Budget Management is expanding access to federal subcontracting possibilities for small businesses by providing recommendations to federal agencies on several methods for expanding subcontracting opportunities. Small firms received $86 billion in rewards in 2023.
Another step mentioned is raising the caps on important lending programs. Active lenders in good standing will get an increase from $350,000 to 500,000 from their Community Advantage Small Business Lending Companies.
The Biden administration declared in January that small disadvantaged firms would get 15% of federal contracting funds by FY 2025, a 50% increase since he entered office. Small disadvantaged firms won 12.1% of federal contracts in FY 2023, amounting to a record $76.2 billion.
