OMB Stresses Accountability For Procurement Goals Some agencies “aren’t even trying” to meet their small business procurement goals, said David Safavian, administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy. Speaking to the National Small Business Association conference in Washington May 12, Safavian said the Bush administration, through the President’s Management Council, is moving to hold top agency officials responsible for meeting the goals. “I think you have some people who just don’t care,” he added. As an example of what could be done to improve opportunities for small firms, he pointed to President Bush’s executive order implementing the set-aside program for service-disabled veterans. It requires each agency to formulate an outreach plan and to name a senior manager to be responsible for the program. That manager’s performance will be part of his annual evaluation to determine whether he receives a bonus. “If we can do something like that for all the socioeconomic groups – hallelujah,” he declared. Safavian said he believes service-disabled veterans should be first in line for federal contracts, although SBA rules give equal priority to 8(a) and HUBZone firms. (See related story, below.) “The preference scheme seems to be a little out of whack,” he said. “I would love to have a conversation with the Hill” about restructuring set-aside programs. He indicated that agencies should be able to favor those socioeconomic categories that are lagging behind, such as disabled veterans, who have never received even one-half of 1% of federal contract dollars. Before making changes, he said, “we have to have the data.” The government’s database of procurement actions, the newly redesigned Federal Procurement Data System, “is a mess,” he declared. “But we’re working on it.” He questioned the reliability of figures produced by the new system. FPDS has not yet released 2004 contracting statistics. An analysis of FPDS figures by Eagle Eye Publishers found that agencies awarded 20% of their prime contract dollars to small firms that year, down from 23.6% in 2003. Safavian described many obstacles that may be preventing small firms from getting “fair opportunity.” He said Congress has repeatedly reduced the acquisition workforce and cut funds for training, putting more pressure on contracting personnel. “I think it’s human nature. It’s easy to bundle contracts if no one is looking over your shoulder. It’s easy to go right to the [GSA] schedules and not think about doing a set-aside, a HUBZone or an 8(a).” But Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), the senior Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, blamed the Bush administration for reducing opportunities for small firms. While acknowledging that the procurement reforms sponsored by President Clinton have hurt small businesses, she said President Bush has not delivered on his promise to break up bundled contracts. “These requirements are not being enforced in the agencies,” she said. “They are not being punished for not meeting their small business goals and they are not being punished for not breaking up their bundled contracts.” Safavian acknowledged widespread problems in the acquisition system, affecting large and medium-sized businesses as well as small ones: “When you have a process that takes 270 days to make a contract award, prompt payment is not being made because the financial systems are falling down, it discourages companies from doing business with Uncle Sam.”