The Make Every Small Business Count Act of 2013 intends to let large contractors count all awards to small businesses beyond the first tier of subcontracts and for the government to measure primes on all levels of contracting, Graves’ office said Tuesday.
Large prime contractors can only count subcontracts it awards regarding the contract specific goal, according to an outline of the legislation.
Agencies would also be allowed to negotiate small business subcontracting goals with prime contractors under this new structure.
âSmall businesses should get a real chance to compete throughout the federal contracting process,â Graves said.
âThe purpose of the federal contracting goal is to ensure small businesses get a fair opportunity, and this bill applies the goal down the line to every subcontract,” he added.
Under current law, the federal government aims to award 23 percent of prime contract dollars and 35.9 percent of subcontracted dollars to small businesses.