C ongress has generally broad authority to impose requirements upon the federal procurement process (i.e., the process whereby agencies acquire supplies and services from other entities for the agency's direct benefit or use). One of the many ways in which Congress has exercised this authority is by enacting measures that encourage agencies to contract and subcontract with "small businesses." For purposes of federal procurement law, the term small business generally denotes a business that (1) is independently owned and operated, (2) is not dominant in its field of operations, and (3) has fewer employees or annual receipts than the standard that the Small Business Administration (SBA) has established for the industry in which the business operates. In exercising its authority over procurement, Congress has declared a policy of ensuring that a "fair proportion" of federal contract and subcontract dollars is awarded to small businesses. It has also required the executive branch to establish government-wide and agency-specific goals for the amount of contract and/or subcontract dollars awarded to small businesses that equal or exceed specified percentages of federal procurement spending (e.g., 3% to Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses). Congress has similarly required or authorized agencies to conduct set-asides , or competitions in which only small businesses may compete, as well as to make noncompetitive or "sole-source" awards to small businesses in circumstances when such awards could not be made to other businesses. In addition, the SBA and officers of the procuring agencies are tasked with reviewing and restructuring proposed procurements to maximize opportunities for small business participation. Congress periodically amends the statutes governing contracting and subcontracting with small businesses to better achieve its declared policy of ensuring that small businesses receive a "fair proportion" of federal procurement spending. The 111 th and 112 th Congresses, in particular, made numerous changes. These Congresses enacted legislation ( P.L. 111-240 , P.L. 112-239 ) that addresses, among other things, (1) the standards under which business size is determined; (2) goals for contracting and subcontracting with small businesses; (3) prime contractors' obligations in subcontracting with small businesses; (4) SBA guarantees of small businesses' performance and payment bonds; (5) "bundling" and "consolidation" of agency requirements into contracts unsuitable for performance by small businesses; (6) set-asides for women-owned small businesses; and (7) mentor-protégé programs for small business contractors. Compared to the 111 th and 112 th Congresses, the 113 th Congress enacted relatively few measures addressing small business contracting, perhaps because the amendments made to the various laws governing small business contracting by its predecessors were still being implemented and assessed. Legislation Enacted by the 113th Congress

Building on the work of its predecessors, the 113 th Congress addressed the government-wide and agency-specific goals for contracting and subcontracting with small businesses. Such legislation was intended to promote subcontracting with small businesses, as were other measures introduced in the 113 th Congress.
Congress has generally broad authority to impose requirements upon the federal procurement process (i.e., the process whereby agencies acquire supplies and services from other entities for the agency's direct benefit or use). One of the many ways in which Congress has exercised this authority is by enacting measures that encourage agencies to contract and subcontract with "small businesses." For purposes of federal procurement law, the term small business generally denotes a business that (1) is independently owned and operated, (2) is not dominant in its field of operations, and (3) has fewer employees or annual receipts than the standards that the Small Business Administration (SBA) has established for the industries in which the business operates.
In exercising its authority over procurement, Congress has declared a policy of ensuring that a "fair proportion" of federal contract and subcontract dollars is awarded to small businesses. It has also required the executive branch to establish government-wide and agency-specific goals for the percentage of contract and/or subcontract dollars awarded to small businesses that equal or exceed specified percentages of federal procurement spending (e.g., 3% for Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses). Congress has similarly required or authorized agencies to conduct set-asides, or competitions in which only small businesses may compete, as well as to make noncompetitive or "sole-source" awards to small businesses in circumstances when such awards could not be made to other businesses. In addition, the SBA and officers of the procuring agencies are tasked with reviewing and restructuring proposed procurements to maximize opportunities for small business participation.
Congress periodically amends the statutes governing contracting and subcontracting with small businesses to further its declared policy of ensuring that small businesses receive a "fair proportion" of federal procurement spending. The 111th and 112th Congresses, in particular, made numerous changes to such statutes. These Congresses enacted legislation (P.L. 111-240, P.L. 112-239) that addresses, among other things, (1) the standards under which business size is determined; (2) goals for contracting and subcontracting with small businesses; (3) prime contractors' obligations in subcontracting with small businesses; (4) SBA guarantees of small businesses' performance and payment bonds; (5) "bundling" and "consolidation" of agency requirements into contracts unsuitable for performance by small businesses; (6) set-asides for women-owned small businesses; and (7) mentor-protégé programs for small business contractors.
Compared to the 111th and 112th Congresses, the 113th Congress enacted relatively few measures addressing small business contracting, perhaps because the amendments made by its predecessors were still being implemented and assessed. Among other things, the primary measures enacted by the 113th Congress (P.L. 113-66, P.L. 113-291) made certain modifications to the legal requirements regarding the use of reverse auctions; sole-source awards to women-owned small businesses; reporting on "bundled" or "consolidated" contracts; reporting on goals for contracting and subcontracting with small businesses; and prime contractors' obligations as to subcontracting with small businesses. Other measures introduced or, in a few cases, enacted in the 113th Congress addressed other topics.