On the recordFebruary 28, 2024
I thank Chairman Williams for yielding me time. I also thank Ranking Member Velazquez for her support on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, The WOSB Integrity Act of 2024. The purpose of this bill is to make sure that the businesses that are taking advantage of the WOSB program are, in fact, small businesses. They are certifying that they are women-owned, but they are self- certifying that they are small. The SBA inspector general found that there is room for fraud in this program, so this is simply a commonsense solution to close a loophole to make sure this program is serving the purpose it was intended to serve, which is giving women-owned small businesses the opportunity to compete in Federal contracting. It encourages fair competition, levels the playing field in government contracting, and ensures the opportunities are awarded justly and contribute to a competitive small business sector. We have a goal of awarding 5 percent of government contracts to women-owned small businesses. We have no way of knowing how well we are doing in meeting that goal if we don't have any way of certifying that these WOSBs are, in fact, small businesses. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.
