Bill to aid small businesses in federal contracting clears House, heads to Senate

Bipartisan legislation to help small businesses access federal contracts has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and will now head to the Senate for consideration.

On Tuesday, the House passed the Small Business Procurement and Utilization Reform, or SPUR Act, which was introduced by Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, and Pete Stauber, R-Minnesota.

If signed into law, the legislation would require the U.S. Small Business Administration to consider the number of new small businesses entering the federal contracting market for a federal agency’s performance goals.

In April, the legislation unanimously passed out of the House Small Business Committee. According to Gluesenkamp Perez, while the amount of federal contracting funds awarded to small businesses has increased, fewer businesses are seeking them out.

“For our local economies to thrive, it’s important that we level the playing field and ensure more Southwest Washington small businesses can benefit from these opportunities,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a statement. “As more folks retire from the trades, the middle class will lose out if small businesses can’t clear the regulatory burdens of competing for contracts. This bipartisan legislation will help ensure our federal government is retaining and bringing in small business contractors — and today’s bipartisan passage through the House is a big step toward making this a reality for Southwest Washington.”

On the House floor, Gluesenkamp Perez said federal contracts can be “an incredible financial opportunity for our nation’s entrepreneurs.” As an example, Gluesenkamp Perez said she and her husband spent roughly a year on infrastructure at the auto mechanic shop they operate in Portland.

At the same time, Gluesenkamp Perez said, another auto repair shop spent the same time navigating the city’s contract system.

“This is a perfect example of how it is a real loss to our communities and our local economies when small business owners have to spend a year navigating a bureaucracy and figuring out how it can do business with the government,” Gluesenkamp Perez said on the House floor.