Adams Offers an Amendment to Study Small Business Federal Contractors
Washington, D.C.—Today, Small Business Committee Vice-Ranking Member Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12) presided over the mark up and offered an amendment to H.R. 2594 The Small Business Payment for Performance Act. The amendment directs agencies to report the metrics of construction contracts, such as the demographics of the small businesses they contract with and the number of changes to an order they request during a project, to Congress. This information will be used to determine the impact these requested changes and project delays have on the contractors and subcontractors who are denied payment until the completion of a project.
"Small businesses are the backbone of our economy yet they are often disadvantaged by government agencies' practices," said Congresswoman Adams. "I'm committed to ensuring continued opportunities for small business growth and diversity in government contracting; to that end, I proposed this amendment which allows Congress to gather information about the impact that repeated agency requests for project changes have on the small business contractors. As legislators, we must do our part to understand government practices that burden business owners and propose adjustments when needed."
"Change order implications on small firms are a serious matter, particularly when business bankruptcy is a real possibility," said Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee. "Ms. Adams' amendment will allow appropriate oversight of this process and provide better data on the scope of the problem. We can't allow small construction firms that do business with the federal government to be uncompensated for their work and I applaud Ms. Adams for her efforts to address this problem."