WASHINGTON - North Carolina small firms might be able to obtainadditional federal business if lawmakers change the rules surrounding thegovernment's process of awarding contracts.

Thosebusinesses have been struggling to win the lucrative contracts, in part becauseofficials tend to give them to firms that have long-term relationships with thefederal government. That is why HouseSmall Business Committee Chairman Steve Chabot, R-Ohio, wants totweak the rules that govern the Small Business Administration. Chabot hascrafted legislation, known as the DefendingAmerica's Small Contractors Act of 2016, to make those changes.

▪ Thelegislation would make it easier for small-business advocates to reviewcontracts and delivery orders set aside for fledgling companies.

▪ Itwould improve the process by which those companies are educated onsmall-business rules.

Largementor firms would be barred from having relationships with smaller firmsbefore pairing up with them in a mentor-protégé program.

F.O.C.U.S. Resources PresidentLea Strickland, who advises small businesses – and even a few fledgling defensecontractors – on how to navigate contracting issues, says the new congressionalsupport is welcome but falls short of addressing some of the bigger problems.

Morethan anything, those contractors need the federal government to provide themwith clear statements on contract requirements and time commitments, she said.Small businesses that pursue federal contracts experience difficulty competingfor them due to that lax guidance, Strickland said.

"It'seven more critical to a small business, because they have less opportunity toabsorb any timing differences and financing differences," she said.

Thegovernment should also consider offering advance payments to those contractorsso that they can pay up front for inventory and staffing increases, she said.

Smallbusiness contract actions plummeted almost 60 percent from fiscal years 2011 to2014, according to a July25 congressional report. Additionally, the number of companiesregistered to perform contract services has dropped by over 100,000 since 2012,Rep. Alma Adams, D-Charlotte, said in an email.

Someof that attrition may be due to the fact that some firms do not know how toapply for federal contracts or navigate the federal contract process, Adamssaid. Regulations surrounding that process can sometimes be overly complicatedand inconsistent, she said.

The percentage of contractdollars awarded to small businesses at DoD increased from just over 16 percentto just over 19 percent, but the actual dollars only fluctuated by about 10percent. The number of small business contract actions at DoD fell by almost 70percent, and the value of those contract actions rose by nearly 290 percent.July25 congressional report

"Ithink there are many reasons (for that trend), including perhaps of a lack ofknowledge or understanding on where and how to apply for federal contracts,"she said.

Adamsis theonly North Carolina lawmaker with a seat on the House Small BusinessCommittee.

Fightingfor and winning a Defense Department contract is particularly difficult forfledgling firms. At the Defense Department, the percentage of contract dollarsawarded to small businesses has plummeted by almost 70 percent, while the valueof those contracts has spiked about 290 percent.

Someof those contracts are being scooped up by large companies that have boughtsmall companies.

"We'vefound that there have been reports of instances where federal contracting dollarswere being awarded to a large business, but counted towards federal smallbusiness contracting goals," Adams said.

H.R. 4341 fixes this issueby including a reporting mechanism requirement for the SBA to report the valueof contracts credited to each goal if the contract is being performed by acompany that is no longer small or no longer qualifies for the procurementprogram. Rep. Alma Adams, D-Charlotte

National Small Business Association spokeswomanMolly Day said it was a natural part of the cycle for businesses to grow and besold off.

"Idon't think always you know some nefarious large corporation is doing it tofleece the federal contractors into getting small business contracts," she said.

TheAmerican Small Business League seesthings differently. Small businesses have been fighting an uphill battle fordecades and have received little help from lawmakers who have accepteddonations from big companies, said league President Lloyd Chapman. Hequestioned Chabot's effort to improve conditions for small businesses.

"TheHouse Small Business Committee hasn't done anything good for small business in30 years," he said.

Whether it is waivingupfront fees for veterans who want to become entrepreneurs or helping smallcompanies ravaged by natural disasters get back on their feet, members of thiscommittee will continue to work in a bipartisan manner to help the owners,employees and patrons of America's 28 million small businesses to prosper andthrive. House Small Business Committee spokesman Joe Sangiorgio

TheAmerican Small Business League has filed multiple lawsuits on behalf of smallcompanies. This year, its members sued Small Business AdministrationAdministrator Maria Contreras-Sweet, accusing her of using "creativeaccounting" to compile its annual reports. Each federal agency is required tosend a report to the administrator at the end of every fiscal year thatexplains why that agency was able to achieve its small-business goals or why itwasn't.

Thelawsuit accuses the administration of failing to ensure that the required 23percent of the lead contract awards went to small businesses from 2006 to 2012.

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