On the recordFebruary 23, 2010
I rise today, along with Senators Landrieu, Bond, and Merkley to introduce the Historically Underutilized Business Zone, HUBZone, Improvement Act of 2010. This vital piece of bipartisan legislation is similar to that which I introduced in the 110th Congress, S. 3699. The purpose of the bill is to help ensure that only eligible firms participate in the critical HUBZone program by requiring that the Small Business Administration, SBA, implement Government Accountability Office, GAO, recommendations for improving the management, oversight and evaluation of the program. As former Chair and now Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have long championed critical small business programs such as the HUBZone program, which provides Federal contracting opportunities to small firms located in economically distressed areas. The program is devised to help stimulate economic development and job creation. In these troubled economic times, a properly functioning HUBZone program is essential for nation-wide economic recovery.
