So Long, Set-Asides?

Provisions in the emergency supplemental spending bill under debate on Capitol Hill could invalidate federal contracting set-asides for small businesses, warned the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Small Business Committee today. In a letter to appropriations committee leaders, they warned that Section 5001 of the bill, which requires large agencies to promote “competitive procedures” for their contracts, would wipe out existing programs that favor small firms. To remedy the problem, they suggested that contracts awarded according to the Small Business Act and two other, set-aside-related laws be exempt from the sections in question.--Jenny Mandel