The White House announced Thursday that President Joe Biden’s administration will ask federal agencies to give more spending contracts to minority and underserved smaller businesses — at more than twice the current level.
Officials said the intent is to increase the statutory goal from 5% to 11%. That means smaller and minority businesses would receive 11% of all federal contracts.
The shift would move closer to Biden’s goal of having disadvantaged American businesses receive 15% of all contracts by 2025.
“Increasing federal spending with underserved businesses not only helps more Americans realize their entrepreneurial dreams but also narrows persistent wealth disparities,” the White House said in a statement.
“Based on data provided by the Small Business Administration, differences in business ownership account for 20% of the wealth gap between average White and Black households.”
The analysis, released Wednesday, showed that Black, Hispanic, American Indian and Native Alaskan business owners remain underrepresented relative to their population share, as are female business owners and those in rural counties.
The White House said it will also release disaggregated data of federal contract spending by race/ethnicity of the business owners to improve transparency. That will enhance contracting opportunities by implementing changes to the government’s use of “category management,” it said.
The change is also expected to raise the number of new entrants to the federal marketplace and reverse declines in the small business supplier base. It will also adopt key management practices to drive accountability and institutionalize the achievement of small business contracting goals.
“Small business contracting goals are a key element of our federal procurement system, driving priorities for nearly 40,000 federal contracting officers,” the White House noted.
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, an initiative by the investment bank to help small business owners advocate for policy changes, has been calling for these types of reforms for months.
“Small businesses don’t want a handout; we want a fair shot,” Jessica Johnson-Cope, the group’s national leadership council chair and small business owner, said in a statement emailed to UPI.
“This a big step toward leveling the playing field for small businesses to compete for and win federal contracts.”
“Reforms like this have a meaningful impact,” added Joe Wall, national director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices program.
“[We are] proud to have been a part of the advocacy efforts that led to this announcement and will continue to lead the way toward further reforms.”
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More political posturing.
“Level the playing field”
“Flatten the curve”
“Reach across the isle”
“Pay their fair share”
To borrow a Greta Thunberg phrase: “Blah, Blah, Blah”.
Blah blah indeed.. AS IS the miiltary is REQUIRED TO see if they can do contracts with MINORITY OWNED companies, even before they attempt to issue that contract to any other company…
“Officials said the intent is to increase the statutory goal from 5% to 11%. That means smaller and minority businesses would receive 11% of all federal contracts.”,,,and of course Joe’s Biden Crime family would get their 10 %, payable in either votes or cash. Is buying votes that are not yours individually with taxpayer government dollars not a federal offense? So much for the concept of American meritocracy where now it’s not what you know or how hard you work that counts, but who you know and what party gets you the free stuff.
“As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs”? Pope Biden’s version is; “As soon as the vote in the machine gets clicked, more government money to buy voters get slicked” Just more financial indulgences from Pope Joseph, the now head of the American church of the socialist religion that sanctions the abortion of your innocent American tax dollars every bit as they would abort your innocent American children, and removes all walls that prevent the mixing of government with their secular socialist religion at every level of government they can.
The only real way to level the playing field is for government to get out of the way, repeal onorous regulations which hinder small businesses while giving large corporations an edge, that includes all kinds of priviledged benefits only they can take advantage of.
That is why i would LOVE TO SHUT 99% of our govt down!
There’s one major problem that I personally have witnessed with minority businesses being “given” federal contracts. The majority of the time the business owners have not idea what, when, how or if they have the intellect to start and complete the job “given” to them. If they cannot they are still paid for the contract and another more capable, competent and intelligent contractor is hired and paid. So double the cost just so a minority contractor can get taxpayer donated money for being a minority. Vicious cycle under this be-damned administration. Keep them down and dumb and they’ll vote for us every time.
That is why i have often railed that the Millitary especially, shouldn’t pay ONE DIME UP FRONT< to any contractor. ONLY PAY THEM ONCE THE JOB IS DONE, and ONLY IF ON TIME and budget.