Commerce opens Katrina contracting center
Web site, call center aimed at connecting small and minority-owned businesses to agencies involved in reconstruction effort.
Amid criticism that small and minority-owned businesses are having difficulty winning federal contracts to aid in Hurricane Katrina reconstruction efforts, the Commerce Department this week announced the creation of an interagency contracting center designed to guide such firms through the procurement process.
The Hurricane Contracting Information Center will be staffed by representatives of several agencies involved in rebuilding the Gulf Coast, including the Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Labor, and Transportation departments, the Small Business Administration and the General Services Administration.
The center will operate a Web site, www.rebuildingthegulfcoast.gov allowing companies to register with the agencies and get basic information on doing business with the government. Representatives from the agencies also will staff a call center (at 1-888-4USADOC) to provide information on contracting opportunities.
The center will facilitate contacts with the agencies involved in reconstruction, but will not award contracts itself.
"The administration is reaching out to companies of all sizes, especially minority-owned enterprises, to guarantee that those seeking to join the rebuilding efforts can navigate federal agencies and bid for contracts with ease," said Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez.