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   In order to participate in federal procurement contracting, a business must be registered on the Federal Government's database, the CCR.   Although there are almost half a million small businesses currently registered on it, less than 60,000 are women-owned businesses.   To get our fair share of contracts, each business woman needs to registered and counted.   It is fast and easy.   The government buys every type of service - so why not participate?

   Why is it so important?

The good news:

1. Women business owners  account for 48% of small businesses in America.   We are recognized as the engine of the American economy, generating $1.9 trillion in annual sales and employing almost 13 million people.

The non-so-good news

1. In 2000 Congress set a goal that 5% of contracts issued should be set aside for women, but so far, almost eight years later, we have not exceeded 3.3%
2. On December 27, 2007, the SBA issued a proposed ruling that stated that women business owners are not under-represented, and do not need the advantage of any contracts that could be set aside.   They based this ruling on the fact that 55,000 women were registered on the CCR..
3. The government awards more than $400 BILLION in contracts each year, and women business owners get ONLY $11 billion of that money.

These sad statistics will not change unless we are counted - and to be counted - each of us must register on the CCR.   WIPP is launching a major campaign to get every business woman registered.   Join us.   Get more information by calling 1-888-488-WIPP, or email us at ccr@wipp.org.

On Thursday, May 1, Senator Barak Obama sent a letter to SBA Administrator Preston objecting to the SBA's proposed rule for the WOSB's procurement program.

In the letter, Obama calls on the SBA "to withdraw its proposal and replace it with a program that reflects the appropriate legal standard, Congressional intent, and the pervasive lack of federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses."

The text of the letter is below:

Dear Administrator Preston,

As a member of the United States Senate, I write to convey my strong objection to the SBA's Proposed Rule entitled Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contract Assistance procedures, published December 27, 2007 (Fed. Reg. 73285). I join Senate Small Business Committee Chairman John Kerry who expressed his concerns to you in a recent letter as well. The proposal conflicts with the intent of Congress, is unjustified by any legal standard, and will do little or nothing to rectify the underrepresentation of, and discrimination and artificial barriers faced by, women owned businesses in government contracting awards.

As decades of evidence has shown, women business owners and minority business owners have been subject to discrimination in numerous ways, including in lending, access to capital, and basic access to federal contracting opportunities. Based on the record, in 2000, Congress passed an unambiguous law that sought to take a small step toward rectifying this chronic problem faced by women owned businesses. The legislation set a realistic and modest goal that 5% of federal contracts be awarded to women owned businesses. Because of persistent barriers, this goal has never been met. In 2006, women owned businesses comprised 30 percent of all small businesses but received only 3.4% of all federal contracts.

There is thus a critical need to implement the Women's Procurement Program in ways that will ensure that Congress's purposes will fully be met. The SBA proposal is not only inadequate to meet this goal; in fact it affirmatively undermines Congress's intent that women owned businesses be awarded their fair share of government contracts.

First, the SBA proposed regulations impose legal requirements that go far beyond any legal standard, statutory or constitutional. These requirements create a hurdle for federal agencies which will ensure that Congress's permissible and critical goals will never be met.

Moreover, the SBA has unnecessarily and unfairly restricted application of the Women's Procurement Program. Congress exceeded constitutional requirements in directing that the Program be used only in the specific industries where women-owned businesses are under-represented. But in interpreting the study it commissioned, the SBA limited the Program to only 4 of 2,300 business categories; in fact, the study should fairly be read to find under-representation in the overwhelming majority of business categories.

Despite a clear and legally justified Congressional mandate, the SBA refused to release the necessary implementing regulations for seven years. Unfortunately, this long awaited proposal is a tragic step backward. The SBA should withdraw this proposal and replace it with a program that reflects the appropriate legal standard, Congressional intent, and the pervasive lack of federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses.

Sincerely,

Barack Obama

United States Senator

On March 19th the SBA released a modernized Standard Operating Procuedures for lender and development company loan programs.

What does this mean?

-An improved relationship between the SBA and lenders and "enhanced delivery" of the SBA loan programs.

How has the SOP changed?

The SBA made substantial structural changes, cut the length from 1,000 pages to 400 and is more logically organized with many electronic links. However, the "SBA made only limited policy changes or clarifications in the document." According to their press release the "SBA will work with lenders and their representatives to incorporate further policy improvements in future iterations of SOP 50 10."

 Stay tuned to the SBA for more changes and developments!