Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7670) to amend the Small Business Act to require a report on small business concerns owned and controlled by women, and for other purposes.

The Clerk read the title of the bill.

The text of the bill is as follows: H.R. 7670

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act'' or the ``WOSB Program Transparency Act''. SEC. 2. REPORT ON SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY WOMEN.

(a) In General.--Section 8(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(m)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

``(9) Report.--Not later than May 1, 2023, and annually thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on small business concerns owned and controlled by women. Such report shall include, for the fiscal year preceding the date of the report, the following:

``(A) The total number of concerns certified as small business concerns owned and controlled by women, disaggregated by the number of concerns certified by--

``(i) the Administrator; or

``(ii) a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator.

``(B) The amount of fees, if any, charged by each national certifying entity for such certification.

``(C) The total dollar amount and total percentage of prime contracts awarded to small business concerns owned and controlled by women pursuant to paragraph (2) or pursuant to a waiver granted under paragraph (3).

``(D) The total dollar amount and total percentage of prime contracts awarded to small business concerns owned and controlled by women pursuant to paragraphs (7) and (8).

``(E) With respect to a contract incorrectly awarded pursuant to this subsection because it was awarded based on an industry in which small business concerns owned and controlled by women are not underrepresented--

``(i) the number of such contracts;

``(ii) the Federal agencies that issued such contracts; and

``(iii) any steps taken by Administrator to train the personnel of such Federal agency on the use of the authority provided under this subsection.

``(F) With respect to an examination described in paragraph (5)(B)--

``(i) the number of examinations due because of recertification requirements and the actual number of such examinations conducted; and

``(ii) the number of examinations conducted for any other reason.

``(G) The number of small business concerns owned and controlled by women that were found to be ineligible to be awarded a contract under this subsection as a result of an examination conducted pursuant to paragraph (5)(B) or failure to request an examination pursuant to section 127.400 of title 13, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor rule).

``(H) The number of small business concerns owned and controlled by women that were decertified.

``(I) Any other information the Administrator determines necessary.''.

(b) Technical Amendment.--Section 8(m)(2)(C) of the Small Business Act is amended by striking ``paragraph (3)'' and inserting ``paragraph (4)''.
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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7670, the Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act.

The Women-Owned Small Business program levels the playing field for female entrepreneurs who compete for Federal contracts. Additionally, it assists agencies in meeting the goal of awarding 5 percent of all contracts to women-owned small businesses.

While the program has steadily improved, it has faced its fair share of delays and challenges. For example, the program started operating 10 years after its enactment, and since its implementation 12 years ago, the 5 percent goal has only been met twice.

The Small Business Administration implemented a formal certification process for the program in 2020, more than 5 years after being required to do so by Congress. As a result, while the agency is making great strides, it still has a substantial backlog of applications and the implementation of corresponding regulations--especially when it comes to program examinations--remains to be seen.

The importance of the program to elevating women-owned small businesses in the Federal procurement arena makes it imperative to conduct oversight to ensure the program is meeting its legislative intent. H.R. 7670 will aid Congress in this endeavor by establishing reporting requirements to better assess the effectiveness of the program.

In particular, H.R. 7670 requires the SBA to report on multiple facets of the Women-Owned Small Business program, including the amount of contracting dollars awarded through the program, the number of certifications issued, the amount of program examinations conducted, and much more.

I thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney) for their bipartisan work on this bill. H.R. 7670 is a commonsense piece of legislation that will bring transparency and accountability to the Women-Owned Small Business program.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan).
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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, long after the enactment of the legislation to create the Women-Owned Small Business Program, women still face inequities when it comes to Federal contracting. The Women-Owned Small Business Program tries to address these inequities.

Today, we have the opportunity to further this mission through H.R. 7670. This bill creates a reporting requirement through which to measure whether the program is working as intended. I am certain that this oversight mechanism will lead to increased transparency, accountability, and efficiency to the benefit of our women-owned small business community. That is why I thank our committee members for their leadership in advancing this piece of legislation.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7670, the ``Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act.''

H.R. 7670 is a bipartisan effort to amend the Small Business Act to require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to submit to Congress a report on small businesses owned and controlled by women including:

Information as to the amount of contracting dollars awarded through the program,

The number of certifications being issued,

The amount of program examinations being conducted,

The number of companies being decertified, and

The number of contracts incorrectly awarded to industries within the North American Industry Classification System or NAICS codes ineligible for the program, as well as any actions taken by SBA to properly train agency personnel.

The SBA's report to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate will equip Congress with transparency into the effectiveness of the program that will enable future improvements to the program.

Established in 2000, the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program leveled the playing field by providing an opportunity for women-owned small businesses to attain federal contracts in industries where the SBA had determined that women entrepreneurs were underrepresented.

Unfortunately, due to administrative neglect in the application review and the application backlog from eligible businesses, many women were shut out from attaining contracts.

Following the U.S. Government Accountability Office's investigation into this matter, they concluded that ``By not improving its oversight of the WOSB program, SBA is limiting its ability to ensure third-party certifiers are following program requirements'', meaning that several contracts that WOSBs had applied for were inaccessible to women.

When enacted, H.R. 7670 will reform the oversight of the WOSB program to ensure that transparency and accountability are high priorities during the contract distribution process.

I applaud the efforts of my colleagues Rep. Chrissy Houlahan and Rep. Claudia Tenney for elevating the voices of all female entreprenuers across America, including over 125,000 female small business owners from Houston.

There has been a long history of women-owned small businesses being excluded from consideration for federal contracts and participation in subcontracting. The progress that women-owned small businesses had made was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that lost ground must be reversed so that women-owned businesses are able to remain competitive.

Now more than ever, it is critical for Congress to stand with America's small business owners to whom we owe a great deal for our economic prosperity.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 7670.

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