09/06/2001
NFIB member and Ohio small businesswoman Bobbie Gentile today told a congressional panel that the practice of bundling many federal contracts together and awarding them to big businesses makes it nearly impossible for Main Street to have fair access to billions of dollars' worth of government contracts.
Gentile testified today before the U.S. House Small Business Committee in support of the bipartisan Small Business Contract Equity Act, HR 1324, which was introduced by Democrat U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez (12th Dist. - N.Y.). Gentile is the president and owner of Q-Mark, Inc., a Dayton, Ohio, small business that helps other small businesses apply for federal contracts.
"For years, small business has been a valuable partner of the federal procurement system," Gentile testified. "Now, we find ourselves in a position of being displaced, due to a new initiative called contract bundling. I believe that bundled contracts will not only destroy countless small businesses, it will reduce the industrial base and eliminate competition, resulting in higher prices, and put government spending behind closed doors."
Gentile also described how federal agencies often use loopholes to claim that they do not engage in contract bundling, and how big businesses that are supposed to subcontract federal jobs to smaller businesses often refuse to do so. The Small Business Contract Equity Act would give the Small Business Administration (SBA) more authority to stop federal agencies from contract bundling.
"Main Street small businesses already have a tough enough time competing with Big Business without having Washington stack the deck against them on federal contracts," said NFIB President Jack Faris. "Small Business Committee Chairman Don Manzullo and Representative Velazquez deserve a lot of credit for their work to fix this problem."
CONTACT: Michelle Dimarob, (202) 554-9000
