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Washington, DC - Today, the House passed eight bipartisan small business bills, including legislation to boost contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses, protect the integrity of the Women-owned Small Business (WOSB) federal contracting program, and codify the Office of Native American Affairs at the Small Business Administration. 

H.R. 7105, The WOSB Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act, would move the government away from self-certification for the women-owned small business program by requiring federal agencies to only count contracts awarded to Small Business Administration-certified WOSBs toward meeting their federal contracting procurement goals. The bill is endorsed by the Women Construction Owners and Executives and Women’s Procurement Circle.

“The women-owned small business program has a number of challenges, including unique, confusing and cumbersome requirements, that translate into unrecognized potential for the program and a loss of opportunity for women-owned small businesses,” said Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez. “My legislation will help to empower female entrepreneurs, simplify and streamline authorities for contracting with small firms owned by women and boost WOSB participation in the federal marketplace.”

H.R. 7102, The Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act, would codify the office of Native American Affairs at SBA, which supports American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians seeking to launch and grow their small businesses. 

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The House also passed the following bills:

H.R. 3511, “To amend the Small Business Act require training on increasing contract awards to small business concerns owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans, and for other purposes”

Introduced by Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) and Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY)

The bill requires SBA to issue guidance for each agency to better meet the current Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses contracting goal and provide training for agencies that come up short. 

H.R. 4669, “The DOE and SBA Research Act “

Introduced by Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) and Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI)

This legislation would foster collaboration between the SBA, National Laboratories, and DOE for research and development activities relating to small business issues and requires a collaborative report outlining the research achievements of the agencies.

H.R. 5265, “Small Business Administration Rural Performance Report Act”

Introduced by Rep. Mark Alford (R-MO), Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX), Rep. Aaron Bean (R-FL), and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH).

The bill would require the SBA to issue an annual report on the activities of the Office of Rural Affairs, develop a specific budget justification for the office, and issue a report on the Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Agriculture (USDA).  

H.R. 6591, “The Encouraging Success Act”

Introduced by Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX) and Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI)

This bill would require the SBA to regularly assess the thresholds to be considered economically disadvantaged for the 8(a) program.

H.R. 5426, “To require the Administrator of the Small Business Administration to provide a link to resources for submitting reports on suspected fraud relating to certain COVID–19 loans”

Introduced by Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) and Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH).

The legislation would require SBA to put a link on their primary website that would direct individuals to the OIG website to report suspected fraud.

H.R. 7128, “The WOSB Integrity Act of 2024”

Introduced by Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI)

The bill would require that SBA or the third-party certifiers to certify that an applicant meets the SBA’s size standards as a small business for participation in the WOSB program.