WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) introduced the Accountability in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act. This legislation would require agencies to only receive credit for women-owned small business (WOSB) contract goals if awards are made to certified WOSBs and force federal agencies failing to meet their WOSB goals to testify before Congress.

“Women-owned small businesses are incredibly valuable to our economy and communities,” Senator Capito said. “There needs to be clarity and accountability to make sure the administration is living up to its duty to certify that people are who they say they are. Fraud and ignorance in federal contracts must be avoided, and agencies and leaders in charge should be held accountable if they don’t meet expectations.”

BACKGROUND:

In 1994, the Small Business Administration set a goal to award 5% of all federal contracts to women-owned small businesses, however they have only met that goal twice. Additionally, contracts for women-owned small businesses declined from 2020 (4.85%) to 2021 (4.63%). The Biden administration is inviting fraud by allowing federal agencies to continue awarding contracts to ineligible entities “self-certifying” as WOSB to appear as though they are meeting required contracting goals.

The Accountability in Women-Owned Small Business Contracting Act:

  • Helps eliminate fraud by allowing agencies to obtain credit towards their women-owned small business (WOSB) prime or subcontracting small business goals, only if the contract was awarded to a certified WOSB.  
  • Holds federal agencies accountable by requiring agencies to submit a report and testify before Congress if they fail to meet their WOSB goal.
  • Provides data to help agencies meet their WOSB goals by requiring an interagency report to be conducted on the state of WOSBs, including factors like inflation, supply chain disruptions, access to capital, and others.

# # #