Washington, May 18 -

House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today released the following statement on the House passage of the National Defense Authorization Act of Fiscal Year 2013 (NDAA), which includes legislation reported by the Small Business Committee that will help increase contracting opportunities for small business and create protections to fight contracting fraud and abuse:

“When more small businesses compete for federal contracts, prices fall, jobs are created, and innovation occurs. Given that the federal government spends over half a trillion dollars each year on private sector contracting, the federal procurement market is incredibly important for small businesses.  The National Defense Authorization Act ensures that small businesses have greater opportunities to compete.  It increases the small business goal from 23 percent to 25 percent, which could mean up to $11 billion dollars in new small business contacts.  It improves the quality of the federal contracting workforce. It cracks down on deceptive firms hiding behind small businesses, makes it easier to catch fraud and abuse, and simplifies the rules for small businesses.  And, it addresses the top complaint I hear from small contractors -- unjustifiable contract bundling.

“I thank Chairman Buck McKeon and Ranking Member Adam Smith for working with my Committee on bringing these provisions to the floor.  Given that about 70 percent of government contracts are awarded by the Department of Defense, it was beneficial for us to work together on improving small business procurement policies. Despite the White House’s shocking objection to this effort to expand opportunities for small businesses, these provisions have been supported by more than 20 business groups and many colleagues across the aisle. This is further proof that both parties can work together to pass legislation that will boost the economy by helping our nation’s small businesses, and I encourage the Senate to support it.”

In addition to providing funding for the Armed Forces, this year’s NDAA reforms the way the Defense Department interacts with the private sector, opening more opportunities for small businesses, increasing competition, and spurring innovation. The legislation draws on the work of the House Armed Services Committee's Panel on Business Challenges within the Defense Industry led by Reps Bill Shuster (R-PA) and Rick Larsen (D-WA). For additional information about the Committee’s small business contracting reform initiative, CLICK HERE.                                         
                 

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