Rubio calls out Wong on WOSB delays

Wong corrects WOSB cert. date; says ‘ I misstated’

      There was a hot seat at the Senate committee hearing on Small Business Act reauthorization on June 12, and Robb Wong was in it.

      Sens. Marco Rubio, R-FL, and Ben Cardin, D-MD, the chair and ranking members of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, had some sharp remarks for Wong, associate administrator for government contracting and business development at the Small Business Administration.

      Rubio said he was frustrated that the SBA still has not implemented a certification program for Women-Owned Small Businesses (WOSBs) despite being ordered to do so in the fiscal 2015 defense authorization.

      “You’ve been there (at SBA) for two years and you’re still going through the process of trying to organize it so you can address it?” Rubio asked Wong.

      “Yes,” Wong replied. “We tried three times to find a solution that would be palatable to Congress.” The current plan is a reengineering of all SBA certification processes--including 8(a) and HUBZone--to reduce duplicative efforts.

      But William Shear, director of financial markets and community investment at the Government Accountability Office, said the fix may not work.

      “Why has (WOSB certification) taken so long? We don’t understand it,” Shear said. “There is a lack of understanding and a lack of focus.”

      “Quite frankly, this is not acceptable,” Cardin added.

      Wong said the WOSB certification should be in place by July 1, 2020, adding that he previously misstated the target date in a congressional hearing last month.

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