Political Quotes

“I have an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2005 to expand the Mentor-Protege program to include service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses and qualified HUBZone small business concerns as eligible participants. Four years ago I worked closely with Chairman Warner to extend the benefits of this successful program to women-owned small businesses. As chair of the Small Business Committee, it is my responsibility to create an environment where small businesses can flourish and apply their talents to the many pressing needs facing our government. The primary issue for small business is access to the Federal marketplace and the opportunity to compete. When small businesses are denied the opportunity to participate in the Federal procurement process, the result for our government is a dramatically reduced contractor base, and the mounting lost opportunity cost of choosing among fewer innovative firms to deliver products and services at lower prices. For the past several years, the Department of Defense has had a program in place to try to develop and maintain small disadvantaged- and women-owned vendors as a vital part of our Nation's defense industrial base.”