USWCC Smacks Around the SBA
Thought this might be interesting as there are many women-owned government contractor companies...................this excerpt was provided by www.wit.org
The U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce is a leader in advocating for women business owners, and has made some impressive strides fighting for implementation of the Women's Federal Procurement Program . Yes, that's the one that requires the federal government to meet the (underwhelming) five percent goal for contracting with women-owned businesses.
Here's the surprisingly dramatic history: Congress passed the Equity in Contracting for Women Act in December 2000. In 2004, USWCC filed a claim against the SBA for failing to implement the program. The case was won in 2005, with the DC District Court ruling that the SBA's actions have created an unreasonable delay (see page 36 of the court's written opinion). The USWCC bluntly calls it "sabotage." USWCC's summary of the next part of this drama is equally incendiary:
"The SBA has blatantly ignored self-imposed deadlines responsive to the Court's order and recklessly touted its nearly seven years of delay as ‘advances' for women-owned small businesses. The Court has ruled that precisely the opposite is true: persistent delay in implementing the women's procurement program injures women-owned small businesses deprived of the opportunity to compete on terms authorized by Congress. "
In late October, the USWCC urged its members to contact their representatives on behalf of H.R. 3867, The Small Business Contracting Program Improvements Act, which includes a provision (Title III, Section 301) to immediately implement the seven-year-old Women's Procurement Program. The House approved this bill on October 30th. Now it's up to the Senate to act