Dear Constituent,

This week, I introduced the Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act, a bipartisan initiative to improve transparency and accountability in the bidding process for small, minority, and women-owned businesses aiming to provide their products or services to the federal government.

I am pleased to announce that this bill was unanimously reported out of the U.S. House Committee on Small Business, making it one step closer to the House floor for a vote. Republican Congressman Mark Alford (R-MO-04) joined me as a co-lead in this endeavor, and I am appreciative of his willingness to reach across the aisle to move this forward. 

Once a federal agency determines they have a need for certain products or services, the agency’s acquisition personnel will post a solicitation on the federal government’s SAM.gov website for a contract to fill the requirements. When responding to a solicitation, small businesses can spend significant time and costs to prepare a proposal.

However, federal agencies have broad discretion to amend or cancel solicitations. Generally, when an agency cancels a solicitation, the reasons are unknown to offerors and there are no universal requirements that the agency provides any information either to the public or to the companies that have provided an offer.

My legislation would require the Small Business Administrator to:

• Issue regulations addressing canceled solicitations for small business contracts to provide disclosure of additional information; and
  
  
• Require a federal agency’s Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) help small businesses seek additional opportunities if a solicitation on which they made an offer is canceled.

Our nation’s small, minority, and women-owned businesses embody the resiliency and determination of the American dream and are a driving force in our economy.

The bipartisan Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act that I have introduced would provide small businesses with total transparency regarding canceled solicitations, which will in turn empower them to amend their business strategies and plan for future bids.

I look forward to this legislation coming to a vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives soon. 

Sincerely,

Kweisi Mfume
Member of Congress