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Small Disadvantaged Business set-aside dollars
True or False: The Department of Defense awarded four times the amount of Small Disadvantaged Business set-aside dollars on prime contracts than did NASA during the first three quarters of FY 2001.
The Small, Disadvantaged Business (SDB) program is a certification process administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration designed to overcome the effects of discrimination. The SBA certifies small businesses that meet specific social, economic, ownership, and control eligibility criteria. Once certified, the firm is added to an on-line registry of SDB-certified firms maintained in the PRO-Net database of small companies. Certified firms remain on the list for three years.
Under the government’s reformed affirmative action rules, SDBs are eligible for price evaluation adjustments of up to 10 percent when bidding on federal contracts in certain industries. The program also provides evaluation credits for prime contractors who achieve SDB subcontracting targets. The program is intended to help federal agencies achieve the government-wide goal of 5 percent SDB participation in prime contracting.
The SDB price evaluation credits are authorized in those industry classification where the US Department of Commerce has determined that SDBs are under-represented because of the effects of ongoing discrimination. As of October 1, 1998 (FY 1999), SDBs are eligible to receive credits when competing in the following industry categories:
| Agriculture | Electric |
| Fishing | Gas |
| Forestry | Sanitary services |
| Construction | Wholesale trade |
| Mining | Retail trade |
| Manufacturing | Finance |
| Transportation | Insurance |
| Communications | Real estate services |
In October, 1995, the Department of Defense suspended its "Rule of Two" set-aside program that reserved contracts for SDBs -- primarily minority-owned firms -- whenever two or more such firms were available and qualified to bid. According to then Deputy Secretary of Defense John White, the DoD took this step on advice from the Justice Department following the Supreme Court's landmark Adarand decision. Because the DoD claimed it was already exceeding its goal of awarding at least 5% of its prime and subcontracts to SDBs and Historically Black Colleges and Universities, White reasoned that continuation of the DoD's SDB set-aside program would violate the "strict scrutiny" standard of the Adarand decision.
What is the impact of this decision six and one-half years later? Using Eagle Eye's FPC database you can generate an answer in about 60 seconds. Fire up the FY 2001 Quarters 1-3 application, clear all existing filters and open up either the Search Wizard or Advanced Search dialogs. In the Contract group of fields identify the search field called "Small Disadvantaged Business Program." Click the binoculars icon to open up the search index, where you will find Code C represents "Small Disadvantaged Business Set-Aside." Enter C in the search box, apply the filter and, once you return to the data display screens, switch to the Agency Active View Screen.
NASA tops the list of agencies awarding SDB set-asides in FY 2001 Quarters 1-3 with nearly $20 million. The correct answer to this week's quiz is therefore False. Moreover, scanning down the ranked list of 16 agencies, the DoD is not among them -- the DoD has awarded no SDB set-asides in FY 2001 !
The impact of the 1995 Adarand decision can be felt to this day. The reduced availability of set-aside opportunities for SDBs combined with the overall growth in competitiveness among federal contractors means that SDB marketing efforts must not only be intensified but be more effective as well.
Data supplied by Eagle Eye Publishers, Inc.
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