House passes small biz bills

      The House passed four bipartisan bills in mid-January intended to help small businesses and contractors.

      Rep. Nydia Velazquez, chair of the House Small Business Committee, announced the House approvals, saying she was “proud” that the bills gained approvals so quickly after the newly-elected House took office.

      Here are the bills:

• HR 190, co-sponsored by Reps. Brad Schneider, D-IL and Roger Marshall, R-KS, would eliminate option years in the award price for sole source contracts, with the goal of granting more opportunities for small businesses to compete for federal contracts. Contracting officers to notify and coordinate with the Small Business Administration to ensure that only eligible small firms win the sole-source awards;
• HR 246, co-sponsored by Reps. Abby Finkenauer, D-IA, and John Curtis, R-UT, would require the SBA to coordinate with senior procurement executives participating in the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program to assist participating small firms with commercializing their research before the business is awarded a federal contract. SBA procurement center representatives would help with researching solicitations and submitting bids;
• HR 206, co-sponsored by Reps. Harley Rouda, D-CA, and Adriano Espaillat, D-NY, would keep the SBIR and STTR programs up to date by making Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs) eligible investors, encouraging participation through a mentor- protégé program and hosting an annual meeting on SBIR best practices; and
• HR 116, co-sponsored by Reps. Judy Chu, D-CA, and Ralph Norman, R-SC, would increase the amount of capital that a bank or federal savings association may invest in an SBIC from 5% to 15%. The increase is subject to approval by the appropriate federal banking agency.

      The bills would need to be approved by the Senate and signed by the president to become law. Earlier in January, the House OK’d two additional small business federal contracting bills, both sponsored by Velazquez: HR 226, to provide data on how category management affects small firms, and HR 227, to allow some subcontracts to count toward small business goals.

      “I’m proud the House has passed a package of bipartisan bills that seek to unlock doors to success for small firms,” Velazquez said in a news release.

House passes small biz bills

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