Comments on: Government Small Business Contracts Are More Important than Ever http://gov.onvia.com/government-small-business-contracts-are-more-important-than-ever/ Articles and tips on how your business can win more government contracts. Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:25:01 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Raul Espinosa http://gov.onvia.com/government-small-business-contracts-are-more-important-than-ever/#comment-30463 Raul Espinosa Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:53:44 +0000 http://gov.onvia.com/?p=291#comment-30463 The SBA Third Annual Scorecard is off by at least $3.1B, possibly much more. FPA turned over to the SBA OIG a list showing that 47 multi-billion dollar firms had taken $3.1B. in reserved contracts. That amount reduces the SBA results to 20.7% . Paul Murphy of Eagle Eye, who tracks these figures for Congress and for FPA points out that the Scorecard true number is closer to 19%. What’s worse is the fact that, even at 19%, the record does not take into account billions in fraud and abuse that went uninvestigated and unreported. The FPA-UNF Umbrella Initiative whose goal is to double the number of minority and women businesses which do business with the government by 2020 has released a list of twelve specific recommendations aimed at leveling the playing field in government contracting: 1. Bring clarity – through legislation - to the statutory small businesses priority over ALL federal programs. 2. Remove the ‘illegal exemptions’ (i.e., GSA and Foreign) from the FAR. 3. Revamp and Strengthen the Size Protest System to make sure it can offer justice. 4. Eradicate the abusive procurement practice referred to as ‘unfair end-user justifications.’ 5. Enforce the existing penalties - especially with large fines - for size misrepresentation. 6. Use those large fines - assessed to the violators - to fund a ‘legal center’ in the private sector to protect the statutory rights of small and disadvantaged businesses. 7. Prevent Agencies from taking credit for restricted contracts awarded to LARGE businesses. 8. Investigate and eradicate the fraud and abuse affecting the 23% statutory reservations. 9. Isolate and protect all restricted solicitations as The Umbrella Initiative has cleverly conceived. 10. Fund disparity studies and research to determine the real state of affairs of minorities & women in accessing contract not solely at the Federal level, but at the State and municipal level as well. 11. Rely on existing outreach networks such as the Small Business Development Centers (SDBC) to implement many of the entrepreneurial solutions that have been proposed. 12. Fund efforts which focus on eliminating barriers and opening-up state and local contracting opportunities (besides Federal) Entrepreneurs, not bureaucrats are the ones who hold the key to the bureaocrats crisis in contracting. Thank you for the opportunity to make a difference, Raul Espinosa, Founder Fairness in Procurement Alliance (FPA) The SBA Third Annual Scorecard is off by at least $3.1B, possibly much more. FPA turned over to the SBA OIG a list showing that 47 multi-billion dollar firms had taken $3.1B. in reserved contracts. That amount reduces the SBA results to 20.7% . Paul Murphy of Eagle Eye, who tracks these figures for Congress and for FPA points out that the Scorecard true number is closer to 19%. What’s worse is the fact that, even at 19%, the record does not take into account billions in fraud and abuse that went uninvestigated and unreported.

The FPA-UNF Umbrella Initiative whose goal is to double the number of minority and women businesses which do business with the government by 2020 has released a list of twelve specific recommendations aimed at leveling the playing field in government contracting:

1. Bring clarity – through legislation - to the statutory small businesses priority over ALL federal programs.
2. Remove the ‘illegal exemptions’ (i.e., GSA and Foreign) from the FAR.
3. Revamp and Strengthen the Size Protest System to make sure it can offer justice.
4. Eradicate the abusive procurement practice referred to as ‘unfair end-user justifications.’
5. Enforce the existing penalties - especially with large fines - for size misrepresentation.

6. Use those large fines - assessed to the violators - to fund a ‘legal center’ in the private sector to protect the statutory rights of small and disadvantaged businesses.
7. Prevent Agencies from taking credit for restricted contracts awarded to LARGE businesses.
8. Investigate and eradicate the fraud and abuse affecting the 23% statutory reservations.
9. Isolate and protect all restricted solicitations as The Umbrella Initiative has cleverly conceived.
10. Fund disparity studies and research to determine the real state of affairs of minorities & women in accessing contract not solely at the Federal level, but at the State and municipal level as well.
11. Rely on existing outreach networks such as the Small Business Development Centers (SDBC) to implement many of the entrepreneurial solutions that have been proposed.
12. Fund efforts which focus on eliminating barriers and opening-up state and local contracting opportunities (besides Federal)

Entrepreneurs, not bureaucrats are the ones who hold the key to the bureaocrats crisis in contracting.

Thank you for the opportunity to make a difference,

Raul Espinosa, Founder
Fairness in Procurement Alliance (FPA)

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