Small and mid-sized companies’ share of the federal IT market dropped last year, according to an analysis by the market research firm Input.

The proportion of federal IT prime contract dollars going to large companies increased from 50% in 2003 to 65% in 2005.

“We have seen a dramatic shift in the way the U.S. federal government acquires technology in favor of the GSA Multiple Award Schedule and major task order-based contracts,” said Kevin Plexico, executive vice president for Input. “These tools give the government more flexibility than ever in selecting their prime vendor of choice and the trend suggests a strong preference for larger businesses.”

At the same time, the small business share of the market is being spread around to more companies. In 2003, Input said, 11,000 companies received less than $10 million in IT award; in 2005 the number rose to 18,000. Plexico said that demonstrates that the barriers to entering the federal market have decreased.

Contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan are subject to military court-martial under a law passed by Congress last year.

The law places contractors in “contingency operations” under the jurisdiction of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the legal regime governing the armed forces. Previously the code covered contractor personnel only in declared wars.

The newspaper Federal Times reported some industry groups worry that the law makes contractors vulnerable to prosecution for offenses such as insubordination and adultery, which are not crimes under civilian law.

But critics said some contractor personnel have literally gotten away with murder in Iraq because they were not prosecuted by the military or by local authorities.

Bipartisan leaders of the Senate Small Business Committee say their first priority is overhauling SBA’s disaster loan program.

The new chairman, Massachusetts Democrat John Kerry, and the ranking Republican, Olympia Snowe of Maine, introduced the Small Business Disaster Response and Loan Improvements Act. Among other things, it would permit banks to make SBA-guaranteed disaster loans to businesses and homeowners; require SBA to create a short-term loan program to help businesses stay afloat while they wait for insurance reimbursement or longer-term loans; authorize the agency to hire contractors to process loan applications; and increase the maximum amount of a disaster loan to $5 million, from $1.5 million.

They said the changes would correct some of the shortcomings that marred the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. Louisiana’s two senators, Democrat Mary Landrieu and Republican David Vitter, are cosponsoring the bill.

The new House Small Business Committee chair, New York Democrat Nydia Velazquez, introduced bills to simplify tax filings for small firms and to allow small companies to draw interest on their checking accounts.

SBA plans a series of free training sessions this year for 8(a) firms and some other disadvantaged businesses.

The two workshops, “Basic CEO/Executive Development” and “Cost and Pricing,” will be held in 40 cities. They are conducted by Unlimited Services Systems Management and Consultants of Largo, MD.

The workshops focus on topics such as business and strategic plans and federal procurement.

Firms that are eligible for the two-day “Basic CEO/Executive Development” training workshop include 8(a) businesses in the developmental stage of the program; firms that operate in areas of high unemployment or low incomes; firms owned by low-income individuals; firms that have been in business for not more than four years; and HUBZone-certified firms.

For more information, go to www.ussmc.com.