Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Small Business Administration Reinforce Small Business Participation in Federal Contracting

Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy and other members of the FAR Council, in close consultation with the Small Business Administration (SBA), released streamlined regulatory coverage on small business contracting.  Small businesses are the cornerstone of the U.S. economy.

The nation’s 34 million small businesses now account for well over 40 percent of U.S. economic activity and are creating two out of every three net new private sector jobs.  Promoting strong small business participation in the federal market is a core objective of the Revolutionary Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Overhaul (RFO), which is returning the FAR to its statutory roots, rewritten in plain language, while removing non-statutory rules when they are not essential to sound procurement.

The release simplifies coverage and reduces the burden on small businesses seeking contracts while preserving important policies requiring agencies to set aside new contracts when there are two or more competitive small businesses capable of performing the work.  The FAR coverage also promotes greater competition in the 8(a)-business development program so that small and disadvantaged businesses are better prepared to win work when they graduate from the program.

“The streamlining and common-sense stewardship that has been unleashed by the RFO is a once-in-a-generation win-win for agencies and the many tens of thousands of small business contractors that provide capability to our country.  Small businesses will have more manageable access to the federal market, and agencies will be able to leverage their talents to meet mission demands,” said Dr. Kevin Rhodes, senior advisor to OMB Director Russell Vought.

The preservation of set-asides and more competitive 8(a) awards will work in conjunction with other regulatory streamlining actions taken by the FAR Council through the RFO that are expected to strengthen small business participation.

SBA will continue working closely with the FAR Council to ensure consistency between updates to its own government-wide rules on small business contracting programs and the changes released today.