SBA Reauthorization Bill Dead Again A last-ditch attempt to reauthorize SBA programs appeared doomed in Congress because of opposition from many small-business advocates. The latest version of the reauthorization bill dropped many controversial procurement preferences for small businesses that were included in an earlier version. Senate Small Business Committee Chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME) termed it a “streamlined” bill when she and the House committee chairman, Donald Manzullo (R-IL), proposed it last month. (SAA, 9/24) As Congress pushed toward adjournment, expected around Oct. 8 or 9, a spokesman for Snowe said she would “try her level best to get the bill passed,” but House staff members said the bill was not likely to be brought up on that side of the Capitol. “That bill is going nowhere,” declared New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez, the senior Democrat on the Small Business Committee. SBA programs have been operating under extensions granted by Congress since the agency’s authorization expired on Sept. 30, 2003. The Senate passed a reauthorization bill last year, but the House never acted on its version. The House bill, H.R. 2802, was approved unanimously by the Small Business Committee in July 2003, but that is as far as it went. The chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA), objected to some of the procurement “goodies” that were included. The two committees slogged through months of negotiations, but the bill never came up for a vote in the House. Rep. Velazquez charged that the White House and the Republican leadership blocked it. Among the provisions: •It would make small businesses the primary source for all contracts under $1 million, up from the current $100,000. •The Office of Management and Budget would be given authority to break up bundled contracts. Opponents of the provision argued that it would slow procurement by adding an additional level of review. Under current law, the SBA administrator may appeal a contract that he believes is improperly bundled, but the contracting agency has the final word. •Small businesses would be given 60 days to respond to any RFP for a bundled contract, instead of the usual 30 days. Supporters said that provision would give small firms time to form teams to bid on the larger contracts. •The bill would give 8(a) companies priority status in set-asides. SBA has proposed a rule giving 8(a) and HUBZone companies equal priority. •It would set a deadline for implementation of the set-aside program for woman-owned businesses. Congress created the set-aside nearly four years ago, but SBA has never implemented it because of legal questions. •It would increase the net-worth limit for owners of 8(a) and small disadvantaged businesses to $750,000, from the current $250,000. •It would require owners of HUBZone companies to meet those same net-worth qualifications, in effect turning the HUBZone program into another small disadvantaged business program. HUBZone supporters say the vast majority of certified companies would not qualify under that provision. The Senate-passed bill, S. 1375, contains none of the procurement provisions. Snowe and Manzullo’s latest bill was an attempt to break the stalemate, but it drew fire from many small-business advocates. The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce told its members the stripped-down bill “shows a clear lack of support for small business owners seeking business opportunities with the federal government.” Congress has extended SBA’s program authority until Nov. 20, when lawmakers are scheduled to be back at work in a lame-duck session. Since the post-election session has a full plate of overdue appropriations bills, it is not clear whether Congress will get around to SBA reauthorization or enact yet another extension.