Congress Halts Limited Set-Aside for Women Congress has blocked the Bush administration’s limited set-aside program for woman-owned businesses. A provision of the $410 billion omnibus spending law for 2009 prohibits SBA from spending money to implement the controversial program, giving the Obama administration a chance to craft its own version. The Bush administration proposal, which is still under review, would allow set-asides in just 31 industries. It would also require an agency to determine that it has discriminated against women in a particular industry before any contract can be set aside for woman-owned firms. Critics argue that the discrimination provision guts the program, because no agency will admit discrimination. “The Bush administration’s absurd proposal to create more red tape and agency roadblocks for female entrepreneurs is stopped,” said Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., chair of the House Small Business Committee. In January SBA asked for another round of public comment on its proposal, citing a new court decision on affirmative action. Last fall a unanimous three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington ruled that the Defense Department’s contracting preference for small disadvantaged businesses was unconstitutional. The court held that Congress and the Defense Department had not produced sufficient evidence of discrimination to justify preferential treatment for companies owned by racial and ethnic minorities. The women’s procurement program has been in limbo since it was signed into law by President Clinton more than eight years ago. How long this delay will last is uncertain. The Senate has not yet confirmed President Obama’s nominee to head SBA, Karen Mills.