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Barry McVay's FEDERAL CONTRACTS DISPATCH

DATE: May 25, 2000

FROM: Barry McVay, CPCM

SUBJECT: Executive Order 13157, Increasing Opportunities for Women-Owned Small Businesses

SOURCE: Federal Register; May 25, 2000, Vol. 65, No. 102, page 34033

AGENCIES: The President

ACTION: Issuance of Executive Order

SYNOPSIS: "To strengthen the executive branch's commitment to increased opportunities for women-owned small businesses," President Clinton ordered federal agencies on May 23, 2000, to "take the steps necessary to meet or exceed the 5% government-wide goal for participation in procurement by women-owned small businesses."

EDITOR'S NOTE: On October 8, 1999, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) issued Policy Letter 99-1, Small Business Procurement Goals, which established an aggregate government-wide goal of 23% for contracts with small business, small disadvantaged business (5%), women-owned small businesses (5%), and "historically underutilized business zone" (HUBZone) small businesses (3%).

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: According to statistics for Fiscal Year 1999 from the Federal Procurement Data Center, awards to women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) accounted for 2.47% of all federal contract awards. This is one-half the 5% government-wide goal established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and reflected in OFPP Policy Letter 99-1. To increase awards to WOSBs, the president has directed federal agencies to take the following actions:

• "Where feasible and consistent with the effective and efficient performance of its mission, each agency shall establish a goal of achieving a participation rate for WOSBs of not less than 5% of the total value of all prime contract awards for each fiscal year and of not less than 5% of the total value of all subcontract awards for each fiscal year."
  
  
• The Small Business Administration (SBA) is to establish an Assistant Administrator for Women's Procurement within its Office of Government Contracting. This officer will be responsible for performing many functions, including:
  
  
  • Working with agencies on ways to increase awards to WOSBs;
    
    
  • Providing training, development seminars, and conferences to instruct women on how to participate in the SBA's 8(a) program, the Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) program, the HUBZone program, and other small business contracting programs for which they may be eligible;
    
    
  • "developing and implementing a single uniform federal government-wide website, which provides links to other websites within the federal system concerning acquisition, small businesses, and women-owned businesses, and which provides current procurement information for WOSBs and other small businesses"; and
    
    
  • "developing an interactive electronic commerce database that allows small businesses to register their businesses and capabilities as potential contractors for federal agencies, and enables contracting officers to identify and locate potential contractors."
  
  
• Agencies will be required to:
  
  
  • designate a senior acquisition official to work with SBA to identify and promote contracting opportunities for WOSBs;
    
    
  • require contracting officers, to the maximum extent practicable, to include WOSBs in competitive acquisitions;
    
    
  • prescribe procedures to make sure that acquisition planners, to the maximum extent practicable, "structure acquisitions to facilitate competition by and among small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, SDBs, and WOSBs, and provide guidance on structuring acquisitions, including, but not limited to, those expected to result in multiple award contracts, in order to facilitate competition by and among these groups";
    
    
  • implement mentor-protege programs which include WOSBs; and
    
    
  • offer industry-specific outreach, training, and technical assistance programs for WOSBs, including the use of acquisition forecasts, to assist WOSBs develop their products, skills, business planning practices, and marketing techniques.
  
  
• Each federal agency will work with SBA, OFPP, and others to develop procedures to increase compliance by prime contractors with subcontracting plans involving WOSBs (see Federal Acquisition Regulation 19.7, The Small Business Subcontracting Program).
  
  
• Agencies that fail to meet their annual WOSB goals will be required to "work with the SBA to develop an action plan to increase the likelihood that participation goals will be met or exceeded in future years."

EDITOR'S NOTE: The 5% WOSB contracting goal has existed for many years, but it has been largely ignored by most agencies. One of the problems is that no "WOSB set-asides" are authorized by statute or regulation, so it is hard for agencies to "target" acquisitions specifically for WOSBs. "Outreach" only goes so far in increasing contract awards. Unless WOSB set-asides become a reality, it will be a long time before the federal government attains the 5% WOSB goal.

Besides, some of these "requirements" are already being implemented. For example, the Electronic Posting System (EPS) (http://www.eps.gov/) looks like it might be designated by OMB as the government-wide portal for information about acquisition opportunities and solicitations, so it is difficult to see what SBA's role will be. As another example, SBA already has its own Pro-Net (Procurement Marketing and Access Network) (http://pro-net.sba.gov), which is an electronic database of small businesses interested in federal contracting and subcontracting opportunities, so President Clinton needs to be more forthcoming about what he has in mind.

My conclusion is that this "feel good" executive order was issued by the president to give Democrats something to point to during the upcoming elections. If it helps WOSBs win more federal contracts -- great, but I expect the executive order's effect on WOSB contract awards will be negligible.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barry McVay at 703-451-5953 or by e-mail to BarryMcVay@FedGovContracts.com.

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