“The Small Business Administration, as part of the Biden administration’s diversity, equity and inclusion work, is stepping up to increase the percentage of federal contracting dollars that go to small, disadvantaged businesses…”
“Bibi Hidalgo, the associate administrator of SBA’s Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, said her office is taking steps to ensure that agencies make the president’s small business contracting goals a reality…”
“Hidalgo said the administration’s goal to increase 8(a) small, disadvantaged business participation in the federal marketplace is one of the main reasons she accepted her role in the Biden administration…”
“’We were told that when [Biden] realized we were creating a manufacturing hub within our Office of Government Contracting and Business Development, he said, “I want to be able to talk about that. That’s something that’s really important for small businesses to hear,”’ she said, adding that the program should help increase contract spending that goes to HUBZone businesses.
SBA, meanwhile, is also taking over the responsibility to certify veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses from the Veterans Affairs Department, starting in 2023.
As part of this transfer, mandated in the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, SBA will start certifying small, disabled veteran-owned firms, which until this point have been self-certified through the VA…” Read the full article here.
Source: SBA sees Biden executive orders as opportunity to increase equity in small business contracts – By Jory Heckman, August 16, 2021. Federal News Network.
