SBA coping with COVID

Spampinato comments on small biz awards, telework

      The Small Business Administration's Office of Government Contracting and Business Development has been very active during the coronavirus pandemic, Francis Spampinato, associate administrator for the office since June, testified at a Sept. 15 House subcommittee hearing.

      He said activities have included sharing COVID-19 guidance, implementing temporary flexibilities and conducting outreach to help small firms win COVID-19 contracts.

      SBA Procurement Center Representatives directly contacted over 1,300 small manufacturers and dealers eligible to compete for COVID-19 contracts, Spampinato said. He added that overall, contracts were awarded to 702 small businesses for PPE, to 149 small firms for respirators, and to 183 small firms for ventilators.

      To date, federal agencies have utilized small businesses for nearly 25% of their eligible contract awards to meet their COVID-19 requirements, Spampinato said at the hearing.

      Throughout the pandemic, the SBA’s contracting office has provided assistance to small vendors, primarily through teleworking. "Most of our people are working from home," Spampinato said. "When I came on board, I was concerned about that. But when I realized that the work was getting done, and in fine form, I realized it is not an issue....We really haven’t lost a step."

More information:
House hearing website: https://bit.ly/3j7owg4

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