Quick Fix
New procurement rules aim to level the playing field.
In keeping with his "mend it, don't end it" stance
on affirmative action, President Clinton is implementing new
federal procurement procedures designed to ensure that small,
disadvantaged business (SDB) owners can compete for prime
government contracts.
The changes take effect October 1 and are expected to impact
30,000 small firms the first year. SDBs currently do $10.8 billion
in business with Uncle Sam. Only $4.4 billion of this total will be
directly affected by the changes.
The new rules include three major changes. First, firms will no
longer be allowed to certify themselves as economically or socially
disadvantaged; this task will be assumed by the SBA and third-party
contractors.
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Second, people who are Asian-American, African-American, Latino
or American Indian will automatically be considered socially
disadvantaged. Others may submit an application to a regional SBA
office describing their social disadvantage and showing a pattern
of discriminatory actions against them.
Finally, certain SDB-certified firms may qualify for a price
evaluation credit of up to 10 percent when bidding on federal
contracts. This means that if another firm bids up to 10 percent
lower on a contract, the SDB would still be considered the lower
bidder.
These new rules pertain only to prime contracts; guidelines are
being formulated for subcontracting and should be in place by
January 1, 1999.