News Analysis:

Small biz goals met -- with criticism

If you ever needed a reminder that small federal vendors are often a politically hot topic, the response to the Obama Administration’s recent small business procurement scorecard should give you a hint.

The Small Business Administration announced on June 26 that small business federal contracting hit a record high of 24.99% in fiscal 2014. The SBA also said the 23% small business procurement goal had been met for the second year in a row.

Those are huge achievements, but there was no huge celebration in Congress.

Instead, House Small Business Committee Chair Rep. Steven Chabot, R-OH, a leading conservative, harshly rebuked the administration.

“The SBA is robbing small businesses,” Chabot said in a news release. “The reason Congress asks for these numbers is so we can use them, not so that the Administration can pat itself on the back once a year.”

Chabot offered no congratulations, but instead accused the administration of excluding too many contracting awards as ineligible, thus possibly inflating the total of small business awards.

The SBA has said its methodology is the same as what was used in GOP President George W. Bush’s administration, including excluding such items as foreign military sales contracts not available to small firms. To satisfy conservative critics, the SBA also recently proposed to change the methodology to stop excluding some overseas contracts.

But Chabot saw fit to ignore the goal achievement and to question its legitimacy. It will take weeks to review his allegations in detail, but meanwhile, small business procurement goals are at risk of becoming another political talking point.

That is unfortunate. In years past, Republicans as well as Democrats rose above politics and pushed for the government’s small business procurement goal to rise to 25%. The House passed the bill twice. It is not on the agenda of the House small business committee this year.

Based on Chabot’s remarks, small business goal achievement now may appear almost pointless since its legitimacy is under attack. Accounting methods that were acceptable for years are being sharply criticized.

Will this demoralize agency contracting officers and make them less eager to meet the goals? One has to wonder. The reaction to the SBA’s announcement should be a warning to all small business federal contractors.

Obama Admin. achieves record 24.99% in small biz procurement

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Small biz goals met -- with criticism

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Fiscal 2014 Small Business Goals Report

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