OMB: 8(a) Business Development Program remains an important gateway for expanding access to the federal marketplace. Image: photoeu/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffOMB has reminded agencies that the administration’s goal for the percentage of contracting spending awarded to firms considered to be small disadvantaged businesses are increasing by 2 percentage points to 13 percent in 2024 and by another 2 points for 2025.
“Use of the federal government’s purchasing power to build wealth in underserved communities, consistent with applicable law, has been a centerpiece of the President’s equity agenda and ties into the administration’s broader economic strategy to support small businesses and increase the resilience of the nation’s supply chains,” says OMB memo M-24-01.
It says that agencies surpassed the fiscal 2022 goal of 11 percent, with 11.4 percent of all contracting dollars awarded to such firms—in dollar terms, a $7.5 billion increase over 2021. “In FY 2022, agencies also awarded record spending to programs designed to increase access to federal contracting for historically underrepresented groups –namely, Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses, service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses (SDVOSBs) and women-owned small businesses (WOSBs) –and to small businesses overall,” it says.
“Agencies and SBA will build upon last year’s agency goals and consider their recent levels of SDB prime contracting to allocate the Government’s increase to 13 percent among the various agencies. Beginning in FY 2025, these negotiations should allow the federal government to reach its goals by cumulatively awarding at least 15 percent of federal contract spending to SDBs,” it says.
“The 8(a) Business Development Program remains an important gateway for expanding access to the federal marketplace for businesses who have experienced past discrimination. Agencies should also continue to increase access to contracting opportunities for WOSBs, HUBZone small businesses, and SDVOSBs, as businesses participating in these programs have a high likelihood of also being SDBs,” it adds.
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