Expanding Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Mr. MARSHALL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6369, the Expanding Contracting Opportunities for Small Business Act of 2018.

Not only will this bill provide opportunities for women-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned, HUBZone, and socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses, this legislation also helps Federal agencies achieve and exceed their small business goals.

Small business sole-source contracting can be a valuable tool for both Federal agencies and small businesses, but our current statute is outdated.

Federal procurement practices are rapidly changing, and the sole- source authority provided by the Small Business Act has not kept up with the changes of today's procurement landscape. By adjusting the statutory sole-source dollar thresholds, H.R. 6369 incentivizes contracting officers' use of small business sole-source contracting in order to help agencies swiftly meet their goals.

While it is critical that agencies maximize opportunities to small businesses, it is equally important that they have procedures in place to assure that awards are made only to eligible and qualified firms. This bill will apply a new oversight procedure that requires agencies to coordinate with the SBA prior to awarding a sole-source contract, ensuring that firms receiving awards are, in fact, qualified and eligible.

I am proud of H.R. 6369 and its mission to promote small business growth, strengthen oversight, and incentivize Federal agencies to work with small businesses. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

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