On July 16, AGC sent a letter to the House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) and Ranking Democrat Adam Smith (D-Wash.) urging them to encourage the Department of Defense (DOD) to issue its report on counting small business participation at all tiers. With AGC encouragement, HASC mandated in the National Defense Authorization Act For Fiscal Year 2012 Committee Report that DOD develop procedures for fully accounting for small business contracting participation at all tiers on a DOD contract. The committee requested this information by March 30, 2012, but has not received a written report from DOD to date.
To improve federal contracting opportunities for small businesses, understanding the full extent of small business participation is essential. Under the current system, if an “other-than small business” is included as a first-tier subcontractor, the prime contractor cannot report the flow of dollars to small businesses hired below the first-tier subcontractor for small business procurement goal purposes. Counting all small business lower tier subcontractors will help identify areas where small businesses are being underrepresented.
AGC strongly holds that the goal of federal small business contracting programs must be measured by the full counting of small business subcontracting at all tiers. This will more accurately show how the construction industry supports and is dependent upon small businesses.
For more information contact Jimmy Christianson at 703-837-5325 or christiansonj@agc.org.
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