Small Business

The Small Business Administration (SBA) serves as the government's advocate for promoting and developing women-owned small business. SBA works with executive branch agencies to set fiscal year contracting goals for women-owned businesses and report on procurement assistance provided to them. This report looks at (1) how federal agencies' contracting goals are established for women-owned business and whether these goals have been achieved lately and (2) the procedures agencies use to certify that such businesses are, in fact, owned by women. GAO also discusses how the Department of Transportation has tried to address the problem of women-owned and other small businesses having to be certified as "disadvantaged business enterprises" each time they bid on a contract from a different state or local agency.

GAO found that: (1) the Small Business Administration (SBA) negotiates fiscal year contracting goals for women-owned small businesses; (2) 14 of 17 major federal procurement agencies met or exceed SBA contracting goals in fiscal year 1990; (3) legislation requires agencies to provide a percentage of funds for selected procurements to groups including small businesses owned by women; (4) to be eligible for a federal contract award as a small business, firms must certify their status; (5) under the DOT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, local government agencies that receive DOT assistance grants may independently certify small business status, but the requirements for the program are demanding; and (6) DOT is considering changes to the program regulations to address certification problems and to clarify and update the procedures.