Biden-Harris Administration Awards Record-Breaking $178 Billion in Federal Procurement Opportunities to Small Businesses
April 29 2024 - 5:00AM
Today, at a roundtable discussion hosted by the White House and
attended by several federal agencies to mark National Small
Business Week, SBA
Administrator Isabel Casillas
Guzman announced the agency’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2023
federal procurement “Scorecard” results, which measure how well
federal agencies meet their small business contracting goals each
year. The Biden-Harris Administration exceeded its FY23 small
business contracting goal of 23%, awarding an
all-time high
28.4% of federal contract dollars to small businesses.
This historic level amounts to a $178.6 billion
investment in the small business economy – an increase of
$15.7 billion from the previous fiscal year – and supports more
than one million good-paying jobs in manufacturing, construction,
research & development, technology, defense, and other vital
industries. Minority-owned businesses across nearly all demographic
categories also saw increased contracting dollars, underscoring the
Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to equity while growing
the pie for all small business owners.
“Through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, we have
championed initiatives to fuel the nation’s economy, ensuring
competition and a level playing field so that small businesses can
have access to the historic level of investments through federal
contracting,” said SBA Administrator Guzman. “The
Biden-Harris Administration is proud of the federal government’s
record-high of $178.6 billion in contract spending with small
businesses, including veteran-owned and small disadvantaged
businesses, while also continuing to make significant strides in
contracts to women-owned businesses.”
Ten federal agencies received A+ grades, and an additional 12
agencies received an A grade. The federal government, overall,
earned an A on this year’s government-wide scorecard. This
year’s A+ winners are the SBA, Dept. of Agriculture, Dept. of
Housing and Urban Development, Dept. of the Interior, Dept. of
Homeland Security, National Science Foundation, General Services
Administration, Dept. of Commerce, Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
and Office of Personnel Management.
The SBA plays a crucial role in setting contracting goals for
each agency and collaborates closely with government buyers to
emphasize the prioritization of small businesses in the procurement
process. Individual agency scorecards with a detailed explanation
of the methodology are available at SBA.gov/scorecard.
Highlights of the overall performance of the federal government
include:
- For the third
consecutive year, Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB)
spending exceeded its enhanced annual goal, set at 12% in FY23,
with the federal government awarding a record-breaking $76.2
billion to SDBs. The noteworthy achievement reflects President
Biden’s unwavering commitment to meeting his ambitious SDB
contracting goal of 15% by FY25.
- Service-disabled
veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) spending has exceeded its
3% goal, reaching 5%. This achievement translates to $31.9 billion
in procurement, reflecting a $3.8 billion spending increase
compared to the previous year.
- Historically
Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses were
awarded a record-breaking $17.5 billion in federal contract awards,
marking the highest amount ever awarded in this category in the
program’s history.
- Women-owned Small
Businesses (WOSB) received $30.9 billion in federal contracting
dollars in FY23, up from $28.1 billion in FY22 and accounting for
nearly 5% of the FY23 total eligible dollars. This marks the
highest dollar amount ever awarded to WOSBs.
- The federal
government achieved its small business subcontracting goals,
awarding 33.34%, or $86.4 billion, to small business
subcontractors.
- The federal
government increased its contract spending with all demographic
groups included in SBA’s disaggregated contracting data, which is
available here.
Expanding Access to Federal Contracting:
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SBA has made it a top
priority to expand access to federal contracting. During
Administrator Guzman’s leadership, the SBA has made several
strategic and targeted changes to ensure small businesses,
particularly those in underserved communities, are empowered to
find and take advantage of opportunities presented by President
Biden’s signature legislation, including the historic Bipartisan
Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and more. Actions
include:
- Releasing new
guidance, “Creating a More Diverse and Resilient Federal
Marketplace through Increased Participation of New and Recent
Entrants.” This executive action includes several new initiatives
for encouraging new entrants to the federal contracting space,
including a Supplier Base Dashboard to track an agency's mix of new
entrants, recent entrants, and established vendors.
- Expanding access for
small businesses to multiple-award contracts, which account for
over 20% of government contracts. In January, the Office of Federal
Procurement Policy directed agencies to structure those contracts
with small-business participation in mind and instructed agencies
to apply the small-business Rule of Two—the rule that a small
business must receive a purchase if two or more small businesses
are able to do the work—when using those contracts.
- Launching an
enhanced training program, “Empower to Grow,” to strengthen Small
Disadvantaged Businesses’ contract readiness. This revitalization
of the popular 7(j) Management and Technical Assistance program
includes improved coaching, training, and technology tools to get
more disadvantaged businesses contract-ready and build a
diversified supplier base. In FY2023, small businesses
participating in the 7(j) program saw a contract win rate of 60%
and self-reported annual revenue growth of 45% on average.
- Announcing several
reforms in small business contracting, including:
- Directing all
agencies to track and evaluate the performance of each of the
socioeconomic small business contracting goals in all performance
plans for Senior Executive Service (SES) managers that oversee the
acquisition workforce or agency programs supported by
contractors.
- Changing the
government’s approach to consolidating federal contracts by
reforming the Category Management program.
- Creating special
contract procedures for 8(a) participants using the GSA’s Multiple
Award Schedule. The new procedures increase contracting
opportunities for 8(a)-certified SDBs to ensure more equitable
access to federal contracting dollars.
- Reviewing and
revising size standards to allow 78,000 additional small businesses
to qualify for SBA’s programs.
FY23 Prime Contracting by Dollars and Percentages for
All Categories*:
Category |
Goal |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023 |
$(B) |
% |
$(B) |
% |
$(B) |
% |
$(B) |
% |
$(B) |
% |
Small Business |
23% |
$132.9 |
26.51% |
$145.7 |
26.02% |
$154.2 |
27.23% |
$162.9 |
26.50% |
$178.6 |
28.35% |
Small Disadvantaged Business |
12% |
$51.6 |
10.29% |
$59.0 |
10.54% |
$62.4 |
11.01% |
$69.9 |
11.38% |
$76.2 |
12.10% |
Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business |
3% |
$22.0 |
4.39% |
$23.9 |
4.28% |
$25.0 |
4.41% |
$28.1 |
4.57% |
$31.9 |
5.07% |
Women-Owned Small Business |
5% |
$26.0 |
5.19% |
$27.1 |
4.85% |
$26.2 |
4.63% |
$28.1 |
4.57% |
$30.9 |
4.91% |
HUBZone |
3% |
$11.4 |
2.28% |
$13.6 |
2.44% |
$14.3 |
2.53% |
$16.3 |
2.65% |
$17.5 |
2.78% |
In accordance with federal law, SBA provided double credit for
prime contract awards in disaster areas that were awarded as a
local area set aside. SBA also included in the calculation of
government-wide achievements Department of Energy first-tier
subcontracts required to be included by section 318 of the
Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014 (“CAA”), Public Law
113-76.
FY23 Federal Contracting Dollars to Minority-Owned Small
Businesses:
Demographic Category |
FY20 |
FY21 |
FY22 |
FY23 |
$
increase under Biden-Harris Administration (from FY20 to
FY23) |
Black American |
$9.4
billion |
$9
billion |
$9.5
billion |
$10.2
billion |
$800
million |
Hispanic American |
$10
billion |
$10.3
billion |
$10.6
billion |
$10.9
billion |
$943
million |
Asian Americans |
$6.9
billion |
$7
billion |
$7.5
billion |
$9
billion |
$2.1
billion |
Subcontinent Asian American |
$8.7
billion |
$9.5
billion |
$10.2
billion |
$11.5
billion |
$2.8
billion |
Native American |
$15.1
billion |
$17.4
billion |
$19
billion |
$23.3
billion |
$8.2
billion |
Small Business Federal Procurement Scorecard
Overview: The annual Procurement Scorecard serves
as a vital assessment tool, gauging the effectiveness of federal
agencies in meeting their small business and socioeconomic prime
contracting and subcontracting goals. This comprehensive Scorecard
not only offers accurate and transparent contracting data, but also
provides detailed reports on agency-specific progress.
Working in collaboration with federal agencies, the Small
Business Administration annually assists in establishing individual
prime and subcontracting goals. Moreover, the SBA ensures that the
federal government, as a whole, meets or surpasses the
government-wide statutory goals mandated in 15(g)(1) of the Small
Business Act for each category.To maintain the quality and accuracy
of contracting data, every federal agency takes responsibility for
its own data. Simultaneously, the SBA conducts supplementary
analyses to identify potential data anomalies. Working alongside
federal agency procurement staff, the SBA provides crucial analyses
and tools to facilitate data review, enhance procurement systems,
and conduct training to improve accuracy. This collaborative effort
ultimately strengthens the federal government's commitment to small
business participation and success in government contracts.
###
About the U.S. Small Business Administration The
U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream
of business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for
small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government,
the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the
resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their
businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers
services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and
partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more,
visit www.sba.gov.
Christine Saah Nazer
U.S. Small Business Administration
202-765-0304
Christine.saahnazer@sba.gov