SBA Is Sued Over Women's Set-Aside The U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce has filed suit seeking to compel the Small Business Administration to move ahead with a set-aside program for woman-owned businesses that was signed into law nearly four years ago. The suit, filed Oct. 29 in U.S. District Court in Washington, asks that SBA be required to establish procedures to determine eligibility for the program within three months. "For years, we have tried to work in a cooperative fashion with the SBA to get the program implemented,” said the Chamber’s CEO, Margot Dorfman. “The agency's intransigence requires us to resort to the courts to ensure that women small business owners get the opportunities they deserve in federal contracting," Dorfman said she and the Chamber’s president, Terry Williams, met with SBA Administrator Hector Barreto Sept. 29, and he told them “the administration has no intention of implementing this program.” SBA Deputy Administrator Melanie Sabelhaus said that quote “is absolutely false.” In an interview Nov. 3, she said, “SBA has been the champion of this” program. President Clinton signed the Women’s Procurement Program into law on Dec. 21, 2000. It allows set-aside contracts “in industries historically underrepresented by women-owned small businesses.” In 2001 SBA conducted a study to identify the eligible industries and began drafting regulations. But Sabelhaus said Justice Department lawyers objected, saying “You’re showing underrepresentation. You need to prove discrimination.” The lawyers believed the program would not stand up to legal scrutiny, so SBA withdrew its draft regulations in April 2002. SBA referred its original study to the National Academy of Sciences for evaluation. That evaluation began last December. Sabelhaus told Set-Aside Alert the Academy’s report is expected by the end of the year. She said it was delayed by personnel changes at the Academy. Sabelhaus said one reason for the long delay was Congress’s refusal to provide money for the study that was required by law. The original study was done in-house. When it was rejected, she said SBA had to come up with about $200,000 to pay for the National Academy’s evaluation. “We haven’t waited on the study,” she added. “We have been pro-active in generating opportunities for women-owned businesses.” While woman-owned firms won less than 3% of prime contract dollars in fiscal 2003, Sabelhaus said the numbers have been going up and “we’re edging toward” the 5% goal set by Congress. She said prime contracts awarded to women have increased by 81% over the past three years. Leaders of the House and Senate Small Business Committees have tried and failed to pass legislation forcing SBA to implement the set-aside program. The lawsuit notes that SBA has never included money to operate the program in its budget proposal and has not included regulations to implement the program in its semiannual list of planned regulatory actions. Chamber President Williams said, "The SBA has done everything possible to stop the implementation of this important program to assist women business owners."