Velazquez Bill Helping Women-Owned Businesses Gains Traction

Washington, DC – The House Committee on Small Business today approved legislation aimed at helping women-owned firms win government contracts and create new jobs. The bill, H.R. 4203, was sponsored by Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), the top Democrat on the Small Business Committee. It takes a series of steps to strengthen the Women’s Procurement Program, an initiatives that was created in 2000 through separate legislation Velázquez authored.

“The federal government can be a great customer, providing a steady flow of revenue and enabling small firms to prosper and add employees,” Velázquez noted. “For too long, women-owned firms have been locked out of these opportunities, and we need to ensure the procurement process is fair to women entrepreneurs hoping to become vendors for federal agencies.”

The nation’s 7.8 million women-owned businesses make up 30 percent of all businesses across the country and generate $1.2 trillion in revenue each year. In New York City, more than 305,000 women-owned enterprises contribute to the local economy. While New York’s women-owned businesses already receive $63 million in federal contracts annually, overall, these businesses still lag far behind in terms of securing government business. Federal agencies have a goal of ensuring 5 percent of their contracts go to female entrepreneurs, but that benchmark has never been met. To address these problems, the legislation would give contracting officers new tools to work with women-owned businesses, streamline the Women’s Procurement Program to help more women-owned businesses join the initiative and remove restrictions that have limited women from participating.

“Women-owned businesses are the fastest growing sector of our economy, but currently account for less than four percent of federal contracts,” Velázquez said. “This legislation helps contracting officers channel federal projects to female entrepreneurs.”

Contracting with small businesses and women-owned enterprises carries with it benefits for the broader economy. Not only do small companies provide excellent goods and services for the federal government, but they are more likely to bring on more employees, creating additional economic opportunity.

“When a growing, woman-owned business wins federal work, they are more likely to hire and create jobs,” Velázquez noted. “By bringing more female-owned businesses into the federal marketplace, we can spur job growth and accelerate our economic recovery.”

The legislation was approved in Committee by voice vote with bipartisan support. It now heads to the full House for consideration before it can be taken up by the Senate and signed into law.