Consider Asking Your Senator to Sponsor the Fairness in Women Contracting Act

By MB -
From our friends at the BPW Foundation
Women small business owners are at the backbone of our recovering economy, and starting a small business can be a smart professional decision for many women including our returning veterans.

In order to make sure that women small business owners are successful, the BPW Foundation is asking you to contact your Senators ASAP about sponsoring a new bill, The Fairness in Women Contracting Act. The purpose of the bill is to address two outstanding barriers that have arisen since implementing the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) procurement program in March, 2011.

This bill improves the WOSB procurement program to lift the dollar caps on the awards in the qualifying 83 NAICS codes, and gives sole source authority to the program. Sole source contracts have a cap of $5 million—the same as in the other small business procurement programs. It also allows women owned small businesses to bid on more lucrative contracts within the WOSB program.

Background

In March 2011, the SBA implemented the WOSB procurement program. This came after a concerted effort by the women’s business community to implement the program which took 11 years of hard work. When enacted, women small business owners knew the program was complicated and would require changes in order to maximize its effectiveness.

Since the program has been in place two outstanding barriers have arisen. First, the dollar limit of $4 and $6.5 million and secondly, the requirement to find two women owned businesses that can qualify for the work. The dollar limit has resulted in a number of opportunities being pulled back because they exceed the dollar limit. This means that contracting officers are trying to award larger contracts to women owned businesses and we cannot avail ourselves of those opportunities. Second, the lack of sole source authority makes the program cumbersome and puts it on unequal footing with other small business procurement programs. In order to make changes, legislation is required and this can be accomplished through The Fairness in Women Contracting Act.

How you can help!

Please email or call your Senate offices asking that they co-sponsor The Fairness in Women Contracting Act. If you are a small business owner, let them know that as well. You can contact your Senators' local or Washington, DC office. Click here to find your Senator's contact information.

The following is a sample email you can send to your Senators:

As your constituent, and a supporter of BPW Foundation, I am writing today to ask Senator _____ to become an original cosponsor on the Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) procurement program bill that Senators Snowe and Gillibrand are introducing, The Fairness in Women Contracting Act . The bill gives sole source authority to the program and lifts the dollar caps on the WOSB procurement program. Although the program is now in effect, it is hampered by the dollar limits and the time it takes for a contracting officer to award a contract to women-owned small businesses.

This is a critical issue for women-owned businesses who are working in the federal contracting market, of which I am one.

If you have questions please contact Meredith West on Senator Snowe's staff at (202) 224-5344 or Kevin Fink on Senator Gillibrand's staff at (202) 224-4451.

Best regards,
XXX

Report back your efforts: Please let the BPW Foundation know which Senate offices you contact by emailing them at foundation@bpwfoundation.org.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overlooked and Undercounted: Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Pennsylvania

By -
Image
Census data tells us that 13% of Pennsylvania households live in poverty. In reality, even more households don’t have the income they need to reach self-sufficiency. One in four Pennsylvania households – over 846,000 – lack enough income to cover just the necessities. Since 1997, PathWays PA has worked with Dr. Diana Pearce and the University of Washington to calculate  The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania . Over the last 23 years,  The Self-Sufficiency Standard of Pennsylvania  has documented the continuing increase in the real cost of living, illuminating the economic crunch experienced by so many families today. Since 2010, PathWays PA and the University of Washington have also issued three versions of the  Overlooked and Undercounted  report, which looks at the number of households living above and below self-sufficiency. You can now use the interactive materials below to find out what it takes to be self-sufficient in your county. Click here  to read the 2020 O
Read more

Mini-Budget Update-Supporting the American Community Survey

By MB -
Image
(via The Census Project ) Next Tuesday, June 19 is an important date to mark on your calendar. The Congressional Joint Economic Committee is holding a public hearing on the economic impact of eliminating the American Community Survey (ACS) at 2:30 p.m., in Room 210 of the Canon House Office Building. Witnesses that will be speaking in opposition to the move to eliminate the ACS are Vincent Barabba, former director of the Census Bureau in two GOP administrations and Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Association of General Contractors and also representing the National Association of Business Economists. It is very important that we pack the congressional hearing room! If you cannot come, please urge your colleages to come. If you represent a non-DC organization contact your friends in Washington and urge them to attend. Also on Tuesday of next week some of our congressional supporters will be holding a noon press conference in the so-called House Triangle right outside the Cap
Read more

Overlooked and Undercounted in the Media (#media)

By MB -
Image
Below are all of the places we've seen Overlooked and Undercounted in the month of May! If you know of anywhere else, please let us know! You can also listen to the audio from our May 11 Conference Call on our website . May 21, 2009 - New Report Says 1 in 5 PA Families Live in Poverty May 21, 2009 - LTE: Clarifying ‘Overlooked And Undercounted’ Study May 19, 2009 - Caught in a trap: State and federal governments must help working poor May 16, 2009 - Study: Local poverty estimates too conservative May 15, 2009 - Study: Pa. Families Above Poverty Level, But Still Struggling May 12, 2009 - Study: 1 in 5 PA Families Struggling to Make Ends Meet May 12, 2009 - Report: Many PA families struggling May 12, 2009 - PathWays PA Releases New Report on Self-Sufficiency Standard May 12, 2009 - Poverty worse in PA than reported: study May 11, 2009 - 1 in 5 PA Households Can't Make Ends Meet May 11, 2009 - Study: 1 in 5 PA residents can't make ends meet May 11, 2009 - 1 in
Read more