DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (The subcommittee's request for information follows:) SELECT COMMITTEE ON SMALL BUSINESS, Hon. ALEXANDER TROWBRIDGE, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. SECRETARY: The Procurement Subcommittee of the House Select Committee on Small Business is conducting a study of the small business procurement policies, practices and programs of Federal departments and agencies. In connection with this study, it will be appreciated if you would furnish the following: 1. Statistical report showing small business participation by dollars and percent in the department's advertised, negotiated and set-aside procurements, excluding Bureau of Roads, during fiscal years 1964-1967. 2. Description by type of requirements procured and the relative dollar value of each category. 3. Statements of policies applied and methods utilized to develop and encourage small business participation in the department's procurements. A response and your comments in 12 copies by October 31 will be appreciated. Sincerely yours, (The response follows:) Hon. ABRAHAM J. MULTER, ABRAHAM J. MULTER, Chairman, Procurement Subcommittee. THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE, Chairman, Procurement Subcommittee, Select Committee on Small Business, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This is in reply to your letter of October 10, 1967, requesting a report showing small business participation in this Department's procurement practices. (The report referred to follows:) DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE REPORT ON PROCUREMENT The statistical report requested in paragraph 1 of your letter is attached. The figures shown in this report are based on the "Report on Procurement by Civilian Executive Agencies," which is submitted to GSA. It compares fiscal years 1964 through 1967. You will note that small business participation has increased substantially between fiscal years 1966 and 1967. Total procurement declined approximately $125,000,000 between these years due to the reduction in ship construction by Maritime Administration. The attached report further shows the total procured by this Department, for Commodities, Services and Construction, as requested in paragraph 2 of your letter. Procurement records in this Department are maintained to meet the needs of reporting to GSA, therefore, detailed statistics are not available for further breakdown of "Categories" procured. For your information, approximately $349,668,939 of the $356,922,708 shown for construction was for ship construction. Small businesses are not available for this type of construction, therefore, by necessity, these contracts were awarded to large businesses. As you know, the Small Business Administration discontinued its joint small business set-aside determinations effective January 27, 1966. In order to make sure that small business continued to receive its share of awards, this Department issued an Administrative Order on December 22, 1966, establishing a unilateral small business set-aside program. Small Business Control Officers were designated by each primary operating unit having contracting authority, and it is the responsibility of these officers to review all requisitions to assure that individual or class set-asides are initiated on all suitable procurement actions. This program is administered and coordinated centrally by our Office of Administrative Services. During Fiscal Year 1968, small business goals will be established for primary operating units by staff members of the Small Business Administration and the Department's Office of Administrative Services. Such goals will provide incentives for contracting personnel to increase awards to small business firms and serve as a guideline for evaluating the effectiveness of the small business program. Should additional information be desired, please be assured of our cooperation. Sincerely yours, DAVID R. BALDWIN, Acting Secretary of Commerce. OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY (The subcommittee's request for information follows:) SELECT COMMittee on Small BUSINESS, Hon. SARGENT Shriver, DEAR MR. SHRIVER: The Procurement Subcommittee of the House Select Committee on Small Business is conducting a study of the small business procurement policies, practices and programs of Federal departments and agencies. In connection with this study, it will be appreciated if you would furnish the following: 1. Statistical report showing small business participation by dollars and percent in the agency's advertised, negotiated and set-aside procurements over $100 during fiscal year 1967. 2. Description by type of requirements procured and the relative dollar value of each category. 3. Statements of policies applied and methods utilized to develop and encourage small business participation in the agency's procurements. A response and your comments in 12 copies by October 31 will be appreciated. Sincerely yours, (The response follows:) Hon. ABRAHAM J. MULTER, ABRAHAM J. MULTER, Chairman, Procurement Subcommittee. OFFICE OF ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, Chairman, Subcommittee on Procurement, Select Committee on Small Business, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The following information is forwarded in response to your request of 10 October 1967: Total dollar value FY 1967 procurements.. Less awards and education and non-profit institutions__. Total.. Less procurements from established Government Schedules.. Awarded to industry---- $108, 878, 402 51, 386, 249 57, 492, 153 4,397, 370 53, 094, 783 $15,208,500 of the total awarded to industry or 28.7% was awarded to Small Business concerns. There were no set asides and all awards to industry were accomplished by negotiation. The requirements procured and dollar value by category were: Job Corps (843 individual procurement actions). VISTA (585 individual procurement actions). CAP (720 individual procurement actions). Totals (3,705) --- $66, 796, 470 10, 206, 260 20, 173, 448 11, 702, 224 108, 878, 402 OEO policies pertaining to Small Business participation are outlined in Subpart 22-1.7 of the OEO Procurement Regulations. This Subpart has been extracted and is forwarded as an enclosure hereto. Small Business participation is encouraged primarily by means of adding to the OEO Bidder's List all Small Business concerns that show any interest in our procurement effort. A positive effort is made to locate such concerns through our technical program people. I trust that the above is the information that you desire. If I can be of further assistance, please advise. Sincerely, (The subpart referred to follows:) Small business concerns SUBPART 22-1.7 22-1.700 GENERAL.-This subpart implements and supplements FPR 1-1.7 by setting forth the OEO small business program. This program applies throughout OEO. 22-1.702 SMALL BUSINESS POLICIES.—It is the policy of OEO to carry out, to the maximum extent, the small business policy expressed in the Federal Property and Administrative Service Act of 1949 and the Small Business Act, that a fair proportion of Government contracts be placed with small business concerns. 22-1.704-1 PROGRAM DIRECTION.-The OEO Small Business Advisor, Office of the Chief, Procurement Division, is responsible to the Chief, Procurement Division for the overall administration of the OEO small business program. 22-1.704-2 PROGRAM OPERATIONS.-(a) Each contracting officer shall utilize his best efforts to identify commodities and services where a potential exists for increasing the small business share of contract awards. (b) Program directors shall cooperate with contracting personnel in the making of unilateral set asides as provided in FPR 1.1-7. (c) The Small Business Advisor shall develop and continuously maintain training programs to insure that all concerned personnel are aware of the OEO Small Business Program. (d) The Small Business Advisor shall provide assistance to both contracting officers and interested small business concerns to insure that small business concerns are afforded maximum opportunity to participate in the OEO Program. (e) The Small Business Advisor is designated the OEO liaision representative in all matters involving the small business administration. It is the responsibility of all OEO personnel to keep him informed on all such matters. 22-1.706-50 REPORTS.-Contracting officers will provide the Small Business Advisor with a monthly report on procurements required to be reported on Standard Form 37 (see FPR 1-16.901-37 of this title), as follows: (1) the number and dollar volume of total contracts awards; (2) the number and dollar volume of contracts awarded to small business firms; and (3) the number and dollar volume of contracts awarded through use of small business set-asides. 22-1.708 CERTIFICATE OF COMPETENCY PROGRAM.-The certificate of competency procedure does not apply where the contracting officer has found that a small business concern is not a responsible bidder for a reason other than lack of capacity or credit. Normally, the contracting officer should obtain the advice of counsel before determining that the certificate of competency procedure does not apply. 22-1.710 SUBCONTRACTING WITH SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS.-GSA Form 1790. Subcontracting Programs (modified for OEO as may be necessary) may be incorporated in contracts which include the small business subcontracting program as a contract requirement. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION AND WELFARE (The subcommittee's request for information follows:) Hon. JOHN W. GARDNER, DEAR MR. SECRETARY: The Procurement Subcommittee of the House Select Committee on Small Business is conducting a study of the small business procurement policies, practices and programs of Federal departments and agencies. In connection with this study, it will be appreciated if you would furnish the following: 1. Statistical report showing small business participation by dollars and percent in the department's advertised, negotiated and set-aside procurements over $100 during fiscal years 1964-1967. 2. Statistical report for the same period showing small business participation in procurement of research and technical services. 3. Description by type of other requirements procured and the relative dollar value of each category. 4. Statements of policies applied and methods utilized to develop and encourage small business participation in the department's procurements. A response and your comments in 12 copies by October 31 will be appreciated. Sincerely yours, (The response follows:) ABRAHAM J. MULTER, Chairman, Procurement Subcommittee. THE UNDER SECRETARY OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE, Hon. ABRAHAM J. MULTER, Washington, D.C., November 30, 1967. Chairman, Procurement Subcommittee, Select Committee on Small Business, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: I enclose a report on the small business procurement program of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in response to your letter of October 10, 1967. If you desire additional information, please let me know. Sincerely, WILBUR J. COHEN, Enclosure. REPORT ON THE SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT PROGRAM FOR FISCAL YEARS 1964 THROUGH 1967 OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE STATISTICAL DATA ON SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE PROCUREMENT Statistical data showing small business participation by dollars and percent in the Department's advertised, negotiated and set-aside procurements over $100 during fiscal years 1964-1967 and showing small business participation in procurement of research and development (R&D) services for the same period is set forth in Appendix A hereto. (Appendix A follows:) |