The new federal set-aside for women-owned small businesses may be sputtering a year after it debuted.

Eligible vendors who registered for the long-awaited set-aside received $21 million in contracts from April to September in 2011, Bloomberg News reported.

However, activity may be stalling. Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, said the women-owned set-aside has generated only $3.6 million worth of contracts in the current fiscal year.

“Women have waited 10 long years for this program, and they deserve more,” Velazquez said June 6.

Congress created the women’s set-aside in 2000, but implementation languished. The SBA published a final rule on Feb. 4, 2011.

Only a small portion of women-owned federal contractors are participating so far. Owners must self-certify that they are eligible.

Karen Mills, SBA administrator, said at the hearing that about 8,000 women have registered to date. She is “personally committed” to the program’s success, she said.

Overall, women-owned businesses received $17.5 billion, or 4 percent of contracting dollars, in fiscal 2010, according to the SBA. The fiscal 2011 figures have not been released yet.