This just in from the Mid-Tier Advocacy Group:
House Resolution 1611, dealing with advanced small business needs, is the most thoughtful and relevant piece of legislation for both growing small businesses and the federal government in years. It has the support of the DoD Office of Small Business Programs Director, Mr. Andre Gudger. Last week at the Army Material Command’s small business conference in Huntsville, Mr. Gudger talked about his support for this legislation both in its creation and his expectation that it passes as it is currently written in the House’s version of the 2013 Defense Authorization Act (HR 1611). Mr. Gudger stated:
“…so one thing I will do is make sure that small businesses who are successful, who grow their businesses because they’re good and they invest in their people and they take good care of them will not be penalized, and so I took over this program, as a pilot called the Mid-Tier Program…
…make no mistake about it, I don’t want to do anything that would stop us and harm the Department of Defense Industrial Base from creating entrepreneurs, whether it’s a one-man company or a five-man company. That’s first and foremost. We need more people starting more businesses in this country. So number one.
The number two, if we can successfully do that, then I think that there’s a place for programs that don’t penalize those companies who have grown to be more than a small business. So it’s in the FY13 National Defense Authorization that I do expect to pass, even before the budget talks pass.”
We are grateful for Mr. Gudger’s support and we hope to have support of the Senate as we do the House of Representatives. HR 1611 will not only help advanced small business continue to grow but will also help the federal government meet its current small business contracting goals, which it consistently fails to do.
Without HR 1611 we run the risk of creating a government contracting oligarchy that will reduce competition and drive up cost for the federal government. We can no longer continue to enable the great divide between large and small businesses in government contracting.
Please call your senators and congressmen and ask them to support HR1611 and see to it that it is added to final version of the 2013 Defense Authorization Act.
