Recently in the WIPP Press Releases Category

WIPP applauds unanimous Senate recognition of Small Business Saturday.   "The leadership by Senators Landrieu and Snowe that brought full and complete bipartisan support together is to be commended," said WIPP President Barbara Kasoff.  "A majority of privately-held small businesses are owned by women, and when shoppers patronize these local companies, they are helping their own communities in many ways.  Women business owners make major contributions to the local and national economy through the creation of jobs, giving back to their communities and serving as leaders in their local business communities."

The Small Business Saturday resolution cites a number of reasons for encouraging consumers to shop local.   Small businesses employ half of the employees in the private sector; create 60 to 80% of all new jobs; and 99% of U.S. consumers agree that it is important to support the small businesses in their community.

Joining Sens. Landrieu and Snowe as co-sponsors were members from the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee that includes Kelly Ayotte (R- NH), Scott Brown (R-MA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Kay Hagan (D-NC), John Kerry (D- MA), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Mark Pryor (D-AR), James Risch (R-ID) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

For Immediate Release
Contact: Ann Sullivan
WIPP Government Relations
202-626-8528
asullivan@madisonservicesgroup.com

Washington, DC - October 5, 2010 - Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) applauds the release of the final rule which will implement the Women's Procurement Program, enacted into law in the year 2000. When enacted, contracting officers will have the ability to restrict competition to women-owned small businesses if the procurement falls within one of the eighty-three (83) North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes. 

"For eleven long years, we have anxiously awaited final implementation of the Women's Procurement Program. Thanks to Administrator Karen Mills and her team, the program is finally underway," said Barbara Kasoff, President of WIPP. "WIPP's efforts led the way to ensure that women contractors have the opportunity to receive their fair share of contracting dollars.  We believe that increased federal contracting opportunities will give women business owners a chance at growing their business," added Kasoff.

Since 2008, our Give Me 5 Program (www.GiveMe5.com) has helped increase the number of women-owned businesses registered on the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) by over 30%.  The CCR is the government database that was used to determine the number of eligible industries in the new program. Along with advocacy for passage and implementation of the Program, WIPP's educational initiatives have worked to build the pool of women-owned businesses ready to bid on federal contracts.

Important to the program's success is a change made in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 which restored "parity" among all of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business contracting programs. The program will be considered equal to any other small business contracting program. This issue is highlighted in WIPP's Economic Blueprint: The Women Business Owners' Platform for Growth, unveiled during the WIPP 2010 Annual Leadership Conference. The Blueprint serves as WIPP's voice regarding challenges unique to small businesses that require action by our elected officials.

To read the final rule, click here.

Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) is a national nonpartisan group with over half-a-million members. WIPP is the collective voice in Washington, D.C., for 51 national women and small business organizations. WIPP advocates for and on behalf of women in business in the legislative process of our nation, creating economic opportunities for members and building alliances with other small business organizations. 

Legislation affecting the Small Business Administration's (SBA) small business programs is pending in the House and Senate, and WIPP needs your help getting these bills passed! One bill addresses the issue of parity among the small business programs. The other bill makes significant changes to the proposed Women's Procurement Program.

On the heels of the Small Business Administration's (SBA) proposed women's procurement program, I am thrilled to see that legislation introduced by Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME) and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) will strengthen the proposed program. The bill ensures that critical components included in other socioeconomic programs administered by the SBA will part of the women's procurement program. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration today released a proposed rule aimed at expanding federal contracting opportunities for women-owned small businesses (WOSB). The women's business community has been waiting 11 years for an effective program which will help the government meet its 5% contracting goal with women.

According to a press release from the SBA, the proposed rule identifies 83 industries in which WOSBs are under-represented or substantially under-represented in the federal contract marketplace. Additionally, it removes the requirement, set forth in a prior proposed version, that each federal agency certify that it had engaged in discrimination against women-owned small businesses in order for the program to apply to contracting by that agency.

Click here to read the proposed rules, SBA Press Release, and WIPP's response statement. We will review the rule and provide you with a detailed analysis.

The public may submit comments to this proposed rule up until close of business on May 3, 2010, to www.regulations.gov, where they will be posted after 4pm EST today, or by mailing them to Dean Koppel, Assistant Director, Office of Policy and Research, Office of Government Contracting, U.S. Small Business Administration, 409 3rd St. SW, Washington, DC 20416. Please reference RIN 3245-AG06 when submitting comments.

Contact Angelin Barrios, WIPP Small Business Policy Analyst, at abarrios@wipp.org with any questions.