On the recordMay 27, 2010
as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I rise today, during National Small business Week, along with my colleague Senator Cardin, to introduce the Small Business Training in Federal Contracting Certification Act. This vital piece of legislation builds upon the Small Business Contracting Revitalization Act, S. 2989, which passed unanimously out of the Small Business Committee on March 4, and would require the development of small business training for contracting officials. The bill we introduce today would take an additional step by requiring contracting officials to successfully complete small business training prior to receiving certification in Federal contracting. During these devastating economic times, with small business owners struggling to retain jobs, much less create new jobs, it is paramount that small businesses have a fair opportunity to contract with Federal Agencies, because the Federal Government is the largest buyer of goods and services in the world, spending over $500 billion in fiscal year 2009 alone. I remain frankly dismayed by the myriad ways the Federal Government has time and again egregiously failed to meet its statutory, government-wide small business 'goaling' requirements that 23 percent of all Federal procurement dollars must be allocated to small contracting firms.
