Recovery Act Provides Little Stimulus For Small Firms Small businesses have received only 10% of contract dollars after the first 90 days of spending under the economic stimulus law. Releasing the figures at a hearing of the Senate Small Business Committee on May 21, Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-ME, commented, “This is simply unacceptable. Small businesses deserve their fair share.” Snowe and committee chair Mary Landrieu, D-LA, said agencies should meet the governmentwide 23% small business goal in their stimulus projects. Small businesses have been awarded $389 million in stimulus contracts, according to the latest figures. SBA officials said the small business share is growing. Joe Jordan, SBA associate administrator of government contracting and business development, said small firms had received only 1.8% of stimulus funds through April 15, but the figure was above 10% a little more than a month later. “We have seen a steady increase, but the absolute value is not where we want it to be,” he testified. SBA has launched a new website, www.sba.gov/subnet, that lists subcontracting opportunities on stimulus contracts. The stimulus bill is “a double-edged sword,” said Sylvia Medina, owner of North Wind Inc., an environmental services firm in Idaho Falls, ID. Because of the pressure to spend money quickly, she said agencies are awarding much of their stimulus work through existing contract vehicles such as multiple award contracts. “That is good news for small businesses with existing contracts, but not for small businesses who are mostly subcontractors or do not hold contracts,” she told the committee. Joe Flynn, director of the University of Tennessee Procurement Technical Assistance Center, added, “We’ve got to broaden that out so other small businesses can have a chance at that money,” said But the stimulus spending is making a big difference to some businesses. Sharon Arnold, owner of a landscaping company in Pontiac, IL, said she had laid off all her employees at the end of last year. “There was little hope for the future.” She has since received several subcontracts on highway projects. “I am fully aware that the stimulus bill has saved my company,” she testified. Flynn said procurement technical assistance centers across the country report sharply rising demand for their counseling and training services. “Our nation’s small businesses are hurting,” he said. “With private sector investment continuing to decline, many small businesses are turning to the government.” Landrieu said, “This government has to do all it can to help small businesses get through this difficult time.” She and Snowe have written to the nation’s governors, urging them to make sure small firms get a share of their stimulus funds.