Steve Chabot: “tonight I rise in support of H.R. 1873, the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act. As an original cosponsor of this…”

“tonight I rise in support of H.R. 1873, the Small Business Fairness in Contracting Act. As an original cosponsor of this legislation, we worked closely with Chairwoman Velazquez and Representative Braley to draft a good, bipartisan bill that passed the Small Business Committee by voice vote and was cosponsored by nearly all the members of the committee. Our legislation was intended to reform the contracting process, increase competition and provide a better value to the taxpayer. The legislation also takes steps to provide greater opportunities to small businesses and addresses problems with the Federal procurement database. Promoting competition and increasing suppliers depends on the active participation of small businesses, the fastest growing segment of the American economy. Without small business's participation, the government is forced to rely on fewer and fewer businesses to satisfy its need for goods and services. This concentration is bad for the government and worse for the tax-paying public. For that reason, utilization of small businesses to fulfill government contracts has been a long-standing policy, a policy that is neither Republican nor Democrat. Unfortunately, the bill we are considering today, while making many important reforms, is watered down from the original version we introduced.”