WASHINGTON, Dec. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration,
Maria Contreras-Sweet, applauded the
signing into law of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
for fiscal year 2015 today. President Obama's signature on
the NDAA is a critical move that will now allow women-owned small
businesses to earn their fair share of the federal marketplace and
gain economic opportunities. Section 825 of the NDAA authorizes
federal agencies to award sole-source contracts to women-owned
small businesses eligible for the Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB)
Federal Contract Program, giving women the same level of access to
the federal contracting marketplace as other disadvantaged
groups.
"Women entrepreneurs are growing at an unprecedented rate.
More than one in four U.S. companies is owned or led by a woman,
and these firms employ more than 7.8 million Americans.
Passage of the women's small business provision in NDAA is a win
for women entrepreneurs and a win for America. This will help
women-owned small businesses gain equal access to federal
contracting as they add jobs to the U.S. economy. A big thank
you to the leaders of the Senate and House Small Business and Armed
Services Committees for helping make this a reality," said
Contreras-Sweet.
In July, Administrator Contreras-Sweet testified before the U.S.
Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship that
federal agencies needed this tool to level the playing field for
women-owned businesses. Many of the committee members shared
the sentiment, and the SBA worked with Congress and key small
business stakeholders to include this provision.
Currently, women entrepreneurs are receiving less than five
percent of federal contracts. While Congress established the
WOSB Federal Contract program in legislation passed in 2000, it was
not implemented. From President Obama's first day in office,
providing economic opportunity to women has been a top priority and
the steps to enact the program were put in motion, which was
implemented in April 2011.
This new provision will give the SBA a new tool to continue to
open doors for more women entrepreneurs in the federal and
commercial contract space. SBA's efforts include aggressively
promoting the Women-Owned Small Business Contract Program, which
aims to expand federal contracting opportunities for women-owned
small businesses.
To learn more about how SBA supports women entrepreneurs,
visit www.sba.gov/wosb
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Contact:
Miguel Ayala (202) 205-6420
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Internet
Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
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Release
Number: 14-72
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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration