Jim Jordan

We just think the market is a much better and more efficient way of getting us there versus the kind of program we are going to hear about today from our witnesses.

I think it's a dangerous track, Congressman Scott, to go down to assume that judgments based on religion can be made by individuals.

Congress should decline the invitation to act to change federal sentencing policy.

I fail to see a need for such action.

It is very disheartening, to put it mildly.

So you would agree with the statement that Mr. Lewis and Mr. Anwyl made, that it seems to be the deal is already done.

So if you were violating that, you were violating the terms of the contract.

If a prime contractor is delinquent, which we have defined as--after substantial input and public comment period--defined as more than 90 days late, just like you said, in paying its small business subs.

We have cut the time in which the government takes to pay small business prime contractors in half, from 30 days down to 15 days.

I completely agree with you, Congressman, that the issue of payment and cash flow is of paramount importance right now.

In terms of ensuring that small businesses are a part of it, the prime contract will have to submit as part of--a material part o the contract, the subcontracting plan.

Sure. I think there are three things that I would say.

The contracting officers have the primary responsibility for ensuring small businesses that they enter into contracts with comply with the limitations on subcontracting.

That type of action is a real demonstration of the type of partnership we have with our inspector general and the Department of Justice, and evidence that this administration has absolutely zero tolerance for fraud, waste, and abuse.

As I told you when I was here a few weeks ago, and I sincerely mean, our top priority at SBA is to maximize opportunity for small businesses and ensure the benefits of our programs flow to the intended recipients.

We can take the suspension action.

In terms of the suspensions and debarments, we stepped it up quite a bit.

Well, this presumption of law is new so it is still being stood up.

We talk a lot about when we are engaging with small businesses and getting them up to speed to sell to the government about being contract ready.

But on our current course, there is going to be some point when that happens, and it can happen extraordinarily fast as a number of other countries have experienced.

Maybe you haven't noticed, but Standard & Poor's just downgraded the bond rating of this country for the first time in 70 years.

In my mind there is no question we need a balanced budget requirement.

We find, one, again, the overwhelming majority of the time it does not need to get to the actual issuance of a Form 70.

For the 8(a) Business Development's Mentor-Protege Program we did see some issues with the way that the joint ventures between those mentors and proteges were happening.

The small businesses overall were 22.7 percent as you said. Woman-owned small businesses were just over four percent. Small disadvantaged businesses were just under eight percent.