Clarity on Small Business Participation in Category Management Act of 2018

Floor Speech

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Ms. ADAMS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 6382, the Clarity on Small Business Participation in Category Management Act.

Small businesses are the heart of American enterprise, and we must ensure a level playing field for all of them to compete for Federal contracts. My legislation is the first step to addressing the many concerns of the small business community regarding the current administration's efforts to expand the use of category management.

Although category management has been billed as the procurement strategy that can get Federal agencies the lowest price, the actual numbers tell a very different story. In fact, the data shows us that small business vendors on the Multiple Award Schedule continually provided agencies with lower prices than those offered by category management contract holders.

However, due to the changes under this administration, many Federal agencies and contracting officers can no longer take advantage of increased competition and lower prices because some category management vehicles are the only option available.

Unfortunately, the current trend of this administration is to increase the number of agencies heading in this misguided direction. This will result in wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars because a reduction of competing vendors means Federal agencies will pay more than necessary for goods and services.

Furthermore, the harmful effect of the use of the category management business model could mean further exclusion of minorities, women, veterans, and other already disadvantaged small business owners in the Federal marketplace.

My bill requires the Small Business Administration to include in their annual report information on best-in-class contractors, which are the companies that largely benefit from category management.

This bill would also provide lawmakers with information on whether category management is reducing the role of small firms, women-owned firms, minority-owned companies, and veteran-owned enterprises in Federal contracting.

I am also proud to say that my bill is endorsed by the National Defense Industrial Association, an association whose 1,600 corporate members and over 85,000 individual members are 70 percent small business. NDIA works to help small companies grow and remain a strong part of the defense industrial base.

The ability for Congress to see this data allows us to determine the effectiveness of such contracting vehicles for small firms and to make needed changes where appropriate.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation. I thank very much our chairman and our ranking member for their support.

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