For the seventh year in a row, the federal government missed the target on small business contracts. In 2012, the government set out to send 23 percent of its contracting budget to small businesses, but missed the goal, with 22.25 percent of contracting funds, or $89.9 billion, going to small businesses.
Falling shy of the goal has angered some federal officials and small businesses. Rep. Sam Graves, (R-MO), chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, was deeply critical of the news.
“The fact that the federal government hasn’t met this meager 23 percent small business contracting goal for seven years is simply unacceptable, and further proof that our government continues to give lip service to small companies,” Graves said.
Many agencies throughout the government narrowly failed to meet their contracting goals, while others had more significant gaps. The National Science Foundation awarded only 15.38 percent of contracting jobs to small business owners, short of the department’s 20 percent goal. The Department of Energy gave out just 5.15 percent of its contracting funds to small businesses, just more than half of its 10 percent goal.
The government also failed to hit contracting quotas for historically underutilized areas, doling out only 2.01 percent of its 3 percent goal to businesses in these regions. Additionally, only 4 percent of contracting funds went to small businesses owned by women, shy of the original 5 percent goal.
Small businesses continue to struggle across the country, and without contracts from the federal government, many owners are finding it difficult to keep their doors open. If small business owners are having a tough time making ends meet, they can turn to National Funding for help. National Funding can provide individuals with a merchant cash advance and can offer advice on getting a small business loan.
