Obama Administration Plans Outreach to Small Business The Obama administration has announced new efforts to increase contract opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses, including projects funded by the Recovery Act. The initiative came just days before SBA reported that small firms lost ground in federal contracting during fiscal 2008. The government fell short of its contracting goals for small, woman-owned, service-disabled veteran-owned and HUBZone businesses. (See story, p. 2.) “Small and minority-owned businesses must play a significant role in our efforts to restore economic growth,” President Obama said in a written statement. “Small businesses employ half of the nation’s private sector workforce, create a large share of the nation’s new jobs and introduce many groundbreaking ideas into the marketplace. It is essential that we provide our nation’s small businesses with maximum practicable opportunity to participate in federal government contracting.” The effort is two-pronged: outreach to small businesses coupled with moves by SBA and the Commerce Department to share best practices for small business contracting throughout the government. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and SBA Administrator Karen Mills said federal procurement officials will participate in or host 200 events for small firms during the next three months aimed at sharing information on contract opportunities, including those available under the Recovery Act. In a news release, SBA said the administration “reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that minority-owned and small businesses, including women- and veteran-owned businesses, have greater access to federal government contracting opportunities.” But the announcement was low-key, with no White House event or kickoff ceremony featuring cabinet officers. Administration officials have said that the 23% small business contracting goal applies to Recovery Act contracts, but agencies are falling short so far. According to SBA, small firms received 21.4% of Recovery Act contract dollars through Aug. 21, covering the first six months since the economic stimulus program was signed into law. During the same period 8(a) companies received 7.9% of Recovery Act contract funds, woman-owned firms 3.8%, service-disabled veteran-owned businesses 5.4% and HUBZone companies 5.7%. “Government contracts can play a key role in helping small businesses turn the corner in terms of expansion and job creation,” SBA’s Mills said. “But make no mistake, the benefits the government receives are equally as impressive. Working with small businesses allows the federal government to work with some of the most innovative companies in America — with direct line to [the] CEO.”