GOVERNMENT 

CONTRACTING

Federal Efforts to 

Assist Small Minority

Owned Businesses

Report to Congressional Requesters

September 2012

GAO-12-873

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO
United States Government Accountability Office

Highlights of GAO-12-873, a report to 

congressional requesters 

September 2012

GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING 

Federal Efforts to Assist Small Minority-Owned 

Businesses 

Why GAO Did This Study

Each year, the government obligates 

billions in contracts to businesses—

nearly $537 billion in fiscal year 2011. 

About $104 billion (19.4 percent) was 

obligated to small businesses, and 

over $36 billion of this amount was 

obligated to small businesses that 

identified themselves as minorityowned (see figure). In this report, GAO 

describes (1) what federal agency 

officials and advocacy groups identified 

as challenges small, minority-owned 

businesses may face in seeking 

federal government contracts—

including any linguistic or cultural 

barriers—and agencies’ efforts to 

address them, and (2) what information

is available on federal efforts to assist 

small, minority-owned businesses in 

contracting with the federal 

government. For selected agencies, 

GAO analyzed data on obligations to 

minority-owned businesses, reviewed 

information on programs and 

resources that can assist minorityowned businesses, reviewed relevant 

information from the Department of 

Justice on agencies’ Limited English 

Proficiency plans, and interviewed 

officials from selected federal agencies

and advocacy groups that provide 

assistance to minority-owned 

businesses. In written comments, 

Commerce said that GAO had not 

covered all federal efforts to support 

small, minority-owned business 

contracting. As GAO noted in the 

report, this study focused on selected 

agencies and contracting activities that 

accounted for about 70 percent of total 

federal obligations to small, minorityowned businesses in fiscal year 2010. 

. 

What GAO Found

While their views varied to some degree, federal agency officials and advocacy 

groups GAO contacted identified a number of challenges that small, minorityowned businesses may face in pursuing federal government contracts. For 

example, officials and advocacy groups pointed to a lack of performance history 

and knowledge of the federal contracting process as significant barriers. Officials 

from advocacy groups cited additional challenges, such as difficulty gaining 

access to contracting officials and decreased contracting opportunities resulting 

from contract bundling—the consolidation of two or more contracts previously 

performed under smaller contracts, into a single contract. Officials from agencies 

that accounted for 70 percent of federal contracting with small, minority-owned 

businesses—(the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, and 

Homeland Security, and the General Services Administration) told GAO that they 

conducted outreach to help small, minority-owned businesses with these 

challenges. Their outreach efforts include one-on-one interviews between 

contracting office staff and businesses seeking federal contracts. Linguistic and 

cultural barriers were identified as a challenge on a limited basis. 

Federal agencies GAO contacted collected and reported some information on the 

contracting assistance provided to small disadvantaged businesses—including 

those that are minority-owned. Two agencies GAO reviewed collected and

reported data by minority group. The Minority Business Development Agency in 

the Department of Commerce—created to foster the growth of minority-owned 

businesses of all sizes—reported that its business centers helped these 

businesses obtain 1,108 financings and contracts worth over $3.9 billion in fiscal 

year 2011. For the same fiscal year, the Small Business Administration (SBA) 

reported that more than 90 percent of its primary business development program

participants were minority-owned businesses. Federal agencies that GAO

contacted said that the goals SBA negotiated with federal agencies for 

contracting with various socioeconomic categories, including small 

disadvantaged businesses, provided some information on efforts to assist 

minority-owned businesses. In fiscal year 2011, agencies GAO contacted met

their prime contracting goal and three out of four agencies met their 

subcontracting goals. GAO generally found limited data on participants in agency 

outreach efforts because the agencies are not required to, and therefore 

generally do not, collect data on the minority group or socioeconomic category of 

businesses that participate in outreach events for federal contracting

opportunities. 

Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small, Minority-Owned Businesses, 

Fiscal Year 2011

View GAO-12-873. For more information, 

contact William Shear at (202) 512-8678 or 

shearw@gao.gov. 
Page i GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Letter 1 

Background 5

Agencies and Advocacy Groups Identified Various Contracting 

Challenges That Minority-Owned Businesses May Face 9

Federal Agencies Collect Some Information on Contracting 

Assistance Provided to Minority-Owned Businesses 16

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 22

Appendix I Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 25

Appendix II Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Socioeconomic 

Categories by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 29

Appendix III Selected Federal Government Contracting Programs, Resources, and 

Outreach Activities 34

Appendix IV Potential Applicability of the Limited English Proficiency Executive 

Order to Federal Contracting 38

Appendix V Comments from the Department of Commerce 40

Appendix VI GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 42

Tables

Table 1: MBDA Client Assistance by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 

2011 20

Table 2: Selected Federal Programs, Resources and Outreach 

Activities 34

Contents
Page ii GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Figures

Figure 1: Government-wide and Selected Agency Prime and 

Subcontracting Goal Achievement, Small Disadvantaged 

Businesses, Fiscal Year 2011 18

Figure 2: 8(a) Program Participants, by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 

2011 21

Figure 3: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small 

Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 29

Figure 4: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small 

Disadvantaged Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 

2011 30

Figure 5: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small 

Women-Owned Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 

2011 31

Figure 6: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small 

HUBZone Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 32

Figure 7: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small 

Service-Disabled Veteran Businesses by Minority Group, 

Fiscal Year 2011 33
Page iii GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Abbreviations

CCR Central Contractor Registration

CMR Commercial Market Representative

DHS Department of Homeland Security

DOD Department of Defense

DOJ Department of Justice

FAR Federal Acquisition Regulation

FPC Federal Procurement Center

FPDS-NG Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation

GSA General Services Administration

HHS Department of Health and Human Services

HUBZone Historically Underutilized Business Zone

LEP Limited English Proficiency

MBDA Minority Business Development Agency

OSDBU Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization

PCR Procurement Center Representative

PTAC Procurement Technical Assistance Center

PTAP Procurement Technical Assistance Program

SAM System for Award Management

SBA Small Business Administration

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Page 1 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

United States Government Accountability Office 

Washington, DC 20548

September 28, 2012

The Honorable Elijah Cummings

Ranking Member

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

House of Representatives

The Honorable Judy Chu

House of Representatives

The Honorable Mike Honda

House of Representatives

The Honorable Gary Peters

House of Representatives

The federal government has a long-standing policy of maximizing 

procurement opportunities for small businesses owned and controlled by 

socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (small 

disadvantaged businesses).1

 

1

Socially disadvantaged individuals are those who have been subjected to racial or ethnic 

prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard 

to their individual qualities. Economically disadvantaged individuals are those socially 

disadvantaged individuals whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system has been 

impaired due to diminished capital and credit opportunities compared with others in the 

same business area who are not socially disadvantaged. 15 U.S.C.A. § 637(a)(5),(6). 

Federal agencies generally do not use the term minority-owned business or refer to the 

racial classification of the business owner. In Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Pena, the 

Supreme Court held that all federal programs—including those concerning federal 

contracting—that use racial classifications are subject to strict judicial scrutiny. To meet 

this standard, a program must be shown to meet a compelling governmental interest and 

must be narrowly tailored to meet that interest. 515 U.S. 200, 227 (1995). 

In 1978, Congress amended the Small 

Business Act to require federal agencies to, among other things, 

negotiate annually in good faith with the Small Business Administration 

(SBA) to establish prime and subcontracting goals for these businesses, 

 
 

Page 2 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

which include businesses owned and controlled by various minority 

groups.2

U.S. Census data show that minority-owned businesses are among the 

fastest growing businesses in the U.S.3

Federal contracting can be an important revenue source for businesses of 

any size. In fiscal year 2011, federal agencies obligated a total of around 

$537 billion in government contracts to businesses.

According to the 2007 Survey of 

Business Owners—the most recent survey data available—minorityowned businesses numbered 5.8 million, an increase of 45.5 percent over 

the 5 years prior to the survey and more than double the 17.9 percent 

rate for all U.S. businesses over the same time period.

4

 

2

15 U.S.C. § 644(g). The Small Business Act defines various socioeconomic categories of 

businesses. Small businesses are those that are independently owned and operated and 

are not dominant in their field of operations. 15 U.S.C. § 632(a). Women-owned small 

businesses must have at least 51 percent female ownership and the management and 

daily operations of the concern must be controlled by women. 15 U.S.C. § 632(n). 

Veteran-owned small businesses must be owned—also at least 51 percent—by one or 

more veterans and veterans must control the management and daily business operations. 

Service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses are veteran-owned small businesses 

owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans. 15 U.S.C. § 632(q). Small 

disadvantaged businesses must be owned and controlled by socially and economically 

disadvantaged individuals—such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Pacific 

Americans, Subcontinent Asian Americans, or Native Americans—or by an economically 

disadvantaged Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian organization. These owners must have at 

least a 51 percent stake in the business. 15 U.S.C. § 637(a)(4)(A); 13 C.F.R. § 124.103.

Qualified Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) small businesses must 

have their principal offices physically located in these historically underutilized business 

zones, which include economically distressed metropolitan or nonmetropolitan areas—that 

is, areas with low-income levels or high unemployment rates—and must employ some 

staff who live in these zones. 15 U.S.C. § 632(p).The small business regulations 

implementing the Small Business Act further define the size of these businesses. 13 

C.F.R. §§ 121.401–121.413.

About $104 billion 

was obligated to small businesses (19 percent) and of this amount, just 

over one-third ($36 billion) was obligated to small businesses that 

3

U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 Survey of Business Owners.

4

In its annual report on small business procurement goals, SBA excludes certain contract 

dollars when calculating percentages of dollars obligated to small businesses. The primary 

justification for these exclusions is that these contracts are not subject to the Federal 

Acquisition Regulation. According to SBA, the total amount of contract dollars less these 

exclusions was $423 billion in fiscal year 2011. To view reports on these goals and 

exclusions see https://www.fpds.gov/fpdsng_cms/index.php/reports/63-small-businessgoaling-report. 
 

Page 3 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

identified themselves as minority-owned according to data from the 

Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG).5 To 

foster participation by small disadvantaged and minority-owned small 

businesses in federal contracting, federal agencies administer a number 

of programs and conduct outreach activities for them. For example, SBA 

administers programs that are designed to develop small businesses—

including minority-owned businesses—and help them navigate the federal 

contracting process. Federal agencies also participate in outreach 

activities such as matchmaking events—one-on-one meetings—that bring 

together agency contracting officials and businesses seeking contracts.

Further, all federal agencies with procurement authority are required by 

law to have an Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization 

(OSDBU) that works specifically on contracting issues for these 

businesses.6

Given the growth in minority-owned business, you asked us to assess 

procurement programs that assist minority-owned businesses. For this 

report, we reviewed (1) what federal agency officials and advocacy 

groups identified as challenges that small, minority-owned businesses 

seeking federal government contracts may face—including linguistic or 

Finally, a number of online resources are available to all 

businesses seeking federal contracting opportunities.

 

5

FPDS-NG is the only government-wide system for obtaining information on how federal 

contract funds are being spent. Contracting obligation data are collected in FPDS-NG, a 

comprehensive, web-based tool and database that functions as a clearinghouse of 

information for all federal contract actions, including noncompetitive and competitive 

actions exceeding $3,000. FPDS-NG captures data on minority-owned businesses for the 

following groups: Asian-Pacific American, Subcontinent Asian (Asian-Indian) American, 

Black American, Hispanic American, Native American, and has a category for other 

groups. Businesses that self-identity as minority-owned do so when registering with the 

Central Contractor Registration (CCR)—the primary registrant database for contracting 

with the federal government. As part of the registration process, businesses have the 

option of designating themselves as minority-owned to indicate that the firm is 51-percent 

owned and the management and daily operations are controlled by one or more members 

of the selected socioeconomic groups mentioned above. When contract funds are 

obligated, the business information is transferred to FPDS-NG. CCR migrated to the 

System for Award Management (SAM) on July 29, 2012. The General Services 

Administration (GSA) is consolidating the government-wide acquisition and award system 

into SAM, a free website which is being developed in phases. Phase 1, released in July 

2012, includes the capabilities found in CCR, Online Representations and Certifications 

Application, and the Extended Parties List System. Over the coming years, additional 

system migrations will be completed.

6

15 U.S.C. § 644(k). At DOD and many of its components, this office is referred to as the 

Office of Small Business Programs. For simplicity, we use the term OSDBU throughout 

the report.
 

Page 4 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

cultural barriers—and agencies’ efforts to address them, and (2) what 

information is available on the extent of federal efforts to assist small, 

minority-owned businesses in contracting with the federal government.

To determine what federal agency officials and advocacy groups 

identified as challenges that minority-owned businesses may face in 

contracting with the federal government, we interviewed agency officials 

from a purposive, non-representative sample of eight contracting offices 

at four agencies that accounted for about 70 percent of total federal 

obligations to small, minority-owned businesses in fiscal year 2010.7

To describe the information available on the extent of federal agencies’ 

efforts to assist small, minority-owned businesses in contracting with the 

federal government, we reviewed federal government prime contracting 

and subcontracting goals, SBA procurement scorecards, and 

documentation describing programs that can provide contracting 

assistance to minority-owned businesses. We conducted interviews with 

officials from the selected agencies and their contracting offices to identify 

and obtain information available on their outreach efforts to contract with 

minority-owned businesses. In addition, we conducted interviews with 12 

advocacy groups that provided contracting assistance to the minority 

groups in our scope. Appendix I provides additional details about our 

objectives, scope, and methodology.

The 

officials included those from contracting offices (those responsible for 

making acquisition decisions) and OSDBUs. The four agencies were the 

Departments of Defense (DOD), Health and Human Services (HHS), and 

Homeland Security (DHS), and the General Services Administration 

(GSA). We also interviewed officials from SBA and the Minority Business 

Development Agency (MBDA), a part of the Department of Commerce 

that was set up specifically to assist minority-owned businesses of all 

sizes. In addition, we interviewed officials from advocacy groups that 

provide assistance to businesses owned by Asian-, Black-, Hispanic-, and 

Native-Americans.

We conducted this performance audit from November 2011 through 

September 2012 in accordance with generally accepted government 

 

7

The purpose of our sampling approach was to identify agency officials who may have 

experience with the challenges that small, minority-owned businesses may face rather 

than to develop a random sample that would be suitable for making estimates of how 

often such challenges are encountered. 
 

Page 5 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the 

audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable 

basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We 

believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.

Under the Small Business Act, SBA plays an important role in ensuring 

that small businesses gain access to federal contracting opportunities. 

SBA negotiates specific agency-wide goals to ensure that the federal 

government collectively meets the 23 percent statutory goal for contract 

dollars awarded to small businesses.8

• 5 percent of prime contracts and subcontract dollars are to be 

awarded to women-owned small businesses,

In addition, SBA negotiates goals 

for the socioeconomic categories of businesses. The current goals are:

• 5 percent of prime contracts and subcontract dollars are to be

awarded to small disadvantaged businesses,

• 3 percent of prime contracts and subcontract dollars are to be 

awarded to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses, and

• 3 percent of prime and subcontract dollars are to be awarded to 

HUBZone small businesses.

Appendix II provides more information on the extent that federal agencies 

obligated federal contract dollars to minority-owned businesses by 

various socioeconomic categories.

The federal government has established a number of programs that can 

assist small and small disadvantaged businesses—including those that 

may be minority-owned—that seek to contract with federal agencies. 

MBDA promotes the growth and competitiveness of minority-owned 

 

8

15 U.S.C. § 644(g). Goals are not set for specific racial and ethnic groups. The 23 

percent goal and various subgoals for socioeconomic categories are statutory minimums.

Background

Federal Goals for 

Contracting with Small 

Businesses

Federal Agency 

Contracting Assistance for 

Small Businesses
 

Page 6 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

businesses of any size.9

SBA administers programs that are targeted to small businesses and that 

provide assistance with federal contracting opportunities. SBA’s 8(a) 

Business Development Program is one of the federal government’s 

primary means of developing small businesses owned by socially and 

economically disadvantaged individuals.

MBDA’s network of business centers helps 

clients identify federal procurement opportunities, analyze solicitations, 

and prepare bids and proposals. It also facilitates relationships between 

minority-owned businesses and federal agencies, and researches 

contracting trends at federal agencies. MBDA’s Federal Procurement 

Center (FPC) provides research on federal agency contracting trends, 

identifies large federal contracts, and helps minority-owned businesses 

identify possible contracting opportunities.

10 Participating businesses, which 

are generally referred to as 8(a) firms, are eligible to participate in the 

program for 9 years. Businesses receive technical assistance, mentoring, 

counseling, and financial assistance so that they can become competitive 

in the federal marketplace. Additionally, participating businesses may bid 

on competitive federal contracts that are open only to 8(a) firms as well as 

on noncompetitive federal contracts.11

SBA’s Procurement Center Representatives (PCR) and Commercial 

Market Representatives (CMR) play an important role in helping ensure 

 

9

MBDA serves enterprises that are owned or controlled by one or more socially or 

economically disadvantaged persons from the following groups: African Americans; 

Puerto Ricans; Spanish-speaking Americans; Asian Pacific Americans; Native Americans; 

Eskimos; Aleuts; Asian Indians; and Hasidic Jewish Americans. See 15 C.F.R. §§ 1400.1. 

Additional groups may apply to MBDA for a socially or economically disadvantaged 

designation. 15 C.F.R. §§ 1400.3 to 1400.6. MBDA is considering a petition to designate 

Arab-Americans as a socially or economically disadvantaged group. 77 Fed. Reg. 31,765 

(May 30, 2012); 77 Fed. Reg. 46,346 (Aug. 3, 2012); 77 Fed. Reg. 53,780 (Sept. 4, 2012).

10The regulations governing participation in the SBA 8(a) Business Development Program 

include a rebuttable presumption that Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native 

Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, and Subcontinent Asian Americans are socially 

disadvantaged. Other groups may petition SBA for designation as socially disadvantaged 

under the 8(a) Program, and individuals who are not a member of a group presumed to be 

socially disadvantaged may establish that they are socially disadvantaged by a 

“preponderance of evidence.” 13 C.F.R. § 124.103. 

11Under certain conditions, the Department of Defense, United States Coast Guard, and 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration are authorized to contract without 

providing for full and open competition. 10 U.S.C. § 2304(c). Other executive agencies are 

provided similar authority under 41 U.S.C. § 3304. 
 

Page 7 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

that small businesses gain access to contracting and subcontracting 

opportunities.12 PCRs and CMRs are the primary SBA staff who 

implement SBA’s prime contracts and subcontracting assistance 

programs, which are intended to increase contracting opportunities for 

small businesses and help ensure that small businesses receive a fair 

and equitable opportunity to participate in federal prime contracts and 

subcontracts. PCRs also can make recommendations to agency 

contracting officers that proposed contracts be set aside for eligible small 

businesses.13 In particular, a PCR’s key responsibilities include reviewing 

potentially bundled or consolidated solicitations—those in which two or 

more procurement requirements previously provided or performed under 

separate smaller contracts are grouped into a solicitation for a single 

contract14

The OSDBU within federal agencies advocate on behalf of small 

businesses. Section 15(k) of the Small Business Act describes the 

functions of OSDBU directors—which include implementing and 

executing the agency’s functions and duties related to the award of 

contracts and subcontracts to small and small disadvantaged 

businesses.

—and making set-aside recommendations to agency 

contracting officers.

15

 

12See 13 C.F.R. § 125.2(b)-(c); 13 C.F.R. § 125.3(e).

Other responsibilities of the OSDBU include identifying 

bundled contracts, potentially revising them to encourage small business

participation, and facilitating small business participation in the contracts. 

OSDBU directors also help small businesses obtain payments from 

13The purpose of small business set-asides is to award certain acquisitions exclusively to 

small business concerns. A “set-aside for small business” is the reserving of an acquisition 

exclusively for participation by small business concerns. A small business set-aside may 

be open to all small businesses. A small business set-aside of a single acquisition or a 

class of acquisitions may be total or partial. 48 C.F.R. § 19.501(a). 

14U.S.C. § 632(o).15 U.S.C. § 631(j).To foster the participation of small businesses in the 

contract opportunities of the federal government, federal agencies, to the maximum extent 

practical, are to avoid unnecessary and unjustified bundling of contract requirements that 

preclude small business participation in procurements as prime contractors.

1515 U.S.C. §644(k). 
 

Page 8 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

agencies and subcontractors, recommend set-asides, coordinate with 

SBA, and oversee OSDBU personnel.16

Agencies also conduct outreach activities for small and small 

disadvantaged businesses, including minority-owned firms that are 

seeking federal contracts. Some agencies host monthly vendor outreach 

sessions, a series of appointments with either agency officials (such as 

small business or procurement officials) or prime contractors that have 

subcontracting needs. These sessions give the businesses an opportunity 

to discuss their capabilities and learn about potential contracting 

opportunities. One of MBDA’s primary outreach efforts is the Minority 

Enterprise Development Week Conference. During this conference, 

participants from minority-owned businesses that have been vetted and 

designated by MBDA are offered appointments with federal and corporate 

partners to discuss contracting opportunities that will be made available 

within the next 6 to 18 months.

Finally, a number of online resources are also available to businesses 

seeking to contract with the federal government. For example, federal 

agencies list their contract solicitations of $25,000 or more on the Federal 

Business Opportunities website (www.FedBizOpps.gov)–managed by 

GSA. The website provides online business tools, training videos, and 

event announcements for small business owners. USA Spending, 

established by the Office of Management and Budget, also contains 

information on federal spending trends across the government, including 

grants and contracts. In addition, federal agencies such as SBA provide 

online contracting courses designed to help small businesses understand 

the basics of contracting with government agencies.17 Appendix III

provides a summary of selected programs, resources, and outreach 

activities available to minority-owned businesses.

 

16Under section 15(k)(10), the OSDBU director is to make recommendations regarding 

whether a particular contract should be awarded to a small business under certain 

programs designed to promote contracting opportunities for small businesses. 

17See http://www.sba.gov/gcclassroom. 
 

Page 9 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Agency and advocacy group officials we interviewed identified a number 

of challenges that small businesses—including minority-owned 

businesses—may face when seeking to contract with the federal 

government. In particular, these officials generally agreed that the lack of 

performance history and knowledge of the federal contracting process 

were significant challenges minority-owned businesses may face in 

contracting with the federal government. However, the officials offered 

varying opinions on the extent to which minority-owned businesses faced 

other challenges, such as a lack of access to contracting officials and a 

lack of monitoring subcontracting plans, and difficulties accessing needed 

resources such as capital. Some agency officials we contacted indicated 

that outreach activities they conduct and practices they undertake in their 

contract solicitation activities address some of these challenges.

Federal agency and advocacy group officials that we interviewed differed 

in their opinions on challenges that small businesses—including those 

that are minority-owned—may face when seeking to contract with the 

federal government. The challenges identified included a lack of 

performance history and knowledge of the federal contracting process, 

contract bundling, a lack of access to contracting officials, lack of

monitoring of subcontracting plans, and difficulties assessing capital.

Officials from federal agencies and advocacy groups we contacted cited 

the lack of a performance history and a full understanding of the federal 

contracting process as significant challenges that minority-owned 

businesses may face. According to the statement of Guiding Principles of 

the Federal Acquisition System, when selecting contactors to provide 

products or perform services, the government will use contractors that 

have a track record of successful past performance or that have 

demonstrated a current superior ability to perform.18

 

1848 C.F.R. § 1.102(b). Past performance means an offeror’s or contractor’s performance 

on active and physically completed contracts. 

SBA officials told us 

that historically and currently, small, minority-owned businesses that 

lacked a performance history have had difficulty entering the federal 

contracting market. MBDA officials also said that lack of a past 

performance record with government contracts or private contracts of 

Agencies and 

Advocacy Groups 

Identified Various 

Contracting 

Challenges That 

Minority-Owned 

Businesses May Face

Agency and Advocacy 

Group Officials Differed in 

Their Opinions on 

Contracting Challenges 

That Minority-Owned 

Businesses May Face

Performance History
 

Page 10 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

similar size, made obtaining federal contracts more difficult for minorityowned businesses because of the weight given to performance history.19

However, some agency officials, including those from two DHS 

contracting offices, noted that because prior commercial experience—not 

just government contracting experience—was considered, the lack of 

prior government experience would not necessarily make a minorityowned business noncompetitive. Officials from a GSA contracting office 

said that most small businesses seeking to contract with its office had a 

performance history with the private sector, not the federal government. 

The officials said that they considered past performance with the private 

sector when making contract award decisions, and thus would not 

consider lack of past performance history with the federal government as 

a challenge. Finally, officials from an HHS contracting office noted that 

the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requires that businesses 

receive a neutral rating if they do not have a performance history and that 

some small businesses may not be aware of this requirement.20

Some federal agency and advocacy group officials we contacted 

indicated that lack of knowledge of the federal contracting process can be 

a challenge for businesses seeking these contracts. For example, one 

advocacy group official noted that small businesses have to understand 

the work of the agencies, such as if there are any prerequisites, 

certifications, or specialized skill sets that are required to obtain contracts. 

In addition, an OSDBU official from DHS said that minority-owned 

businesses could experience challenges in obtaining information about 

various contracting opportunities, learning and understanding how the 

However, 

some advocacy group officials indicated that certain prerequisites and 

past performance requirements were difficult for minority-owned 

businesses to meet. For example, officials from one group said that these 

businesses might partner with other more established businesses to help 

meet the performance requirements.

 

19Different rules apply based on the type of contracting involved. For example, when 

engaged in a source selection for a contract by negotiation, past performance must be 

evaluated when the contract is expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold 

(unless a documented reason is provided). 48 C.F.R. § 15.304(c)(3). 

20See 48 C.F.R. § 15.305(a)(2)(iv). The FAR states that offerors without a record of 

relevant past performance may not be evaluated favorably or unfavorably on past 

performance—in other words, they must be given a neutral rating for the past performance 

evaluation factor.

Knowledge of the Federal 

Contracting Process
 

Page 11 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

bidding process works, and learning how to secure a government 

contract. Further, MBDA officials noted that the federal contracting 

process was very different from contracting with private sector 

companies. They added that although federal agencies spend time and 

money holding sessions on doing business with the federal government, 

these sessions offered general information that could not be transferred 

to bidding on specific projects. Similarly, agency officials also cited the 

lack of understanding of agencies’ contracting needs. For example, an 

OSDBU official from HHS emphasized that businesses that did not 

understand the mission of the agency with which they were seeking a 

contract or did not know what the agency bought and acquired might not 

know how to market their product or service appropriately to win the 

contract.

Advocacy group officials cited contract bundling as a significant 

challenge, although a majority of agency officials disagreed. Advocacy 

group officials whom we interviewed said that contract bundling could 

reduce the number of contracting opportunities available for small and 

minority-owned businesses. MBDA officials said that they believe that 

many contracts are bundled unnecessarily and agreed that this practice

limited minority-owned businesses’ ability to compete for these contracts.

However, other federal agency officials we interviewed said that they did 

not believe that contract bundling was a significant challenge for minorityowned businesses at their agencies. In addition, some agency officials 

told us that they had specific policies regarding contract bundling. For 

example, HHS and DOD contracting officials noted that their offices had 

policies that prohibited contract bundling and added that small businesses 

could protest a contract that they believed was unjustifiably bundled.21

 

21A bid protest is a challenge to the award or proposed award of a contract for the 

procurement of goods and services or a challenge to the terms of a solicitation for such a 

contract. Bid protests may be filed at GAO against procurement actions by federal 

government agencies and can also be filed with the agency responsible for the 

procurement, and with the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. In addition, size and status 

protests based on business determinations can be filed with SBA.

Further, officials from one HHS contracting office indicated that they 

worked with small business specialists to determine if contracts should be 

separated.

Contract Bundling
 

Page 12 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Advocacy group officials cited a lack of access to contracting officials as a 

significant challenge. Officials from six advocacy groups that we 

interviewed stated that the agency officials present at outreach events, 

such as matchmaking events, often did not have the authority to make 

decisions about awarding a contract. However, with the exception of 

MBDA, none of the federal agency officials we contacted said that access 

to contracting officers was a challenge at their agencies. The officials 

emphasized efforts that their agencies were making to assist businesses.

For example, officials participate in industry days, where businesses can 

meet prime contractors as well as interact with agency procurement staff, 

and also conduct one-on-one appointments with businesses that seek to 

contract with their agencies. Some federal contracting officials did note 

that limited resources might pose a challenge in accessing the contracting 

officers. For example, contracting officials from DHS and GSA indicated 

that any perceived access issues would be due to limited resources in 

contracting offices. GSA contracting officials said that when the office had 

a large number of contracts to complete, they could not meet with each 

business owner seeking contract opportunities.

Advocacy group officials also cited a lack of monitoring of subcontracting 

plans by federal agencies as a significant challenge for minority-owned 

businesses, although SBA officials noted that this issue was a challenge 

for all small businesses, not just those owned by minorities. Officials from 

five advocacy groups described instances in which prime contractors did 

not use the small, minority-owned business subcontractors that they 

initially said they would use. Further, one advocacy group official said that 

because federal contracting officials generally had relationships with 

prime contractors and not subcontractors, small, minority-owned 

subcontractors often had no recourse when a problem arose. An official 

from another advocacy group stated that contracting officers have no 

accountability to federal agencies to justify any subcontractor changes. 

SBA officials noted that prime contractors’ “dropping” of subcontractors 

from their plans after the contracts were obligated was not an issue 

Lack of Access to Contracting 

Officials

Lack of Monitoring of 

Subcontracting Plans
 

Page 13 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

exclusive to minority-owned businesses but was a challenge for small 

subcontractors in general.22

In addition, we previously reported that CMRs cited a lack of authority to 

influence subcontracting opportunities.23

Some federal agency and advocacy group officials we interviewed said 

that a lack of access to capital, financing, and bonding were challenges. 

Officials from three federal agencies, including contracting officials and 

one OSDBU official, cited lack of access to capital as a key barrier for 

minority-owned businesses. SBA officials also said that historically and 

currently small, minority-owned businesses have had difficulty entering 

the federal contracting market due to lack of access to capital. In addition, 

according to a 2010 MBDA report, capital access is the most important 

factor limiting the establishment, expansion, and growth of minorityowned businesses. Moreover, MBDA reported that minority-owned 

businesses paid higher interest rates on loans than other businesses, 

received smaller loans, were more likely to be denied credit, and were 

PCRs and CMRs also said that it 

was difficult to enforce prime contractors’ performance under 

subcontracting plans because determining that a contractor was not 

acting in good faith was difficult. Officials from one DOD contracting office 

said that they did not communicate with subcontractors directly and that 

prime contractors did have the right to pick a subcontractor of their choice 

throughout the duration of a contract. An OSDBU official from DOD added 

that the contracting officer would review and approve a replacement 

subcontractor under certain circumstances. If a prime contractor’s 

subcontracting plan included a certain percentage of work that was 

designated for a small disadvantaged business, the contracting officer 

might not approve the proposed replacement subcontractor if the change 

did not adhere to the original percentage. 

 

22The Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 requires prime contractors on covered contracts to 

notify the contracting officer in writing if the prime contractor fails to use a small business 

concern as described in the prime contractor’s bid or proposal or when a payment to a 

subcontractor is reduced or 90 days or more past due. Pub. L. No. 111-240, §§ 1322, 

1334, 124 Stat. 2504, 2540–2544 (2010). SBA has issued a proposed rule regarding 

these requirements. 76 Fed. Reg. 61,626 (Oct. 5, 2011).

23GAO, Improvements Needed to Help Ensure Reliability of SBA’s Performance Data on 

Procurement Center Representatives, GAO-11-549R (Washington, D.C.: June 15, 2011).

Lack of Access to Capital and 

Other Resources 
 

Page 14 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

less likely to apply for loans because they feared their applications would

be denied.24

Further, officials from two advocacy groups noted that bonding 

requirements could prevent small, minority-owned businesses from 

competing for large contracts. Bonding is required to compete for certain 

contracts to ensure that businesses have the financial capacity to perform 

the work and pay for labor and supplies.25

In general, advocacy groups identified linguistic and cultural barriers as a 

challenge for minority-owned businesses on a limited basis. One 

advocacy group official said that linguistic barriers may be a challenge 

because business owners with strong accents could have difficulty 

communicating. Officials from a few Asian-American advocacy groups 

noted that business owners with limited English proficiency (LEP)

For example, an official at one 

advocacy group indicated that to be considered for large contracts, 

businesses may be required to obtain $25 million to $50 million in 

bonding capacity. Since few small businesses can obtain this bonding 

capacity, this official said that these businesses rely on “teaming” 

arrangements—two or more businesses that collectively pursue larger 

procurement contracts—to expand their opportunities. 

26

 

24U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency, Disparities in 

Capital Access between Minority and Non-Minority-Owned Businesses: The Troubling 

Reality of Capital Limitations Faced by MBEs (Washington, D.C.: 2010).

may

experience challenges. For example, one official said that business 

owners in the construction industry may have difficulty obtaining a 

required design certification if English was not the business owner’s first 

language. Another advocacy group official cited challenges such as 

discrimination against subcontractors by prime contractors because of 

accents or LEP. Officials from advocacy groups also cited examples of 

cultural barriers. For example, one noted that some first generation 

Americans might have an aversion to working with the federal 

government and therefore would not be willing to seek government 

contracts. Some officials from Hispanic advocacy groups said Hispanic

contracting officials were underrepresented in the federal government. 

25A surety bond is form of insurance that guarantees contract completion. 

26See appendix IV for a discussion of the potential applicability of Executive Order 13,166, 

Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency, to federal 

contracting and outreach activities.

Linguistic and Cultural Barriers
 

Page 15 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Officials from another group also said that some minority groups, 

including those in nonmetropolitan areas, could lack the infrastructure 

needed (e.g., Internet service and transportation) to conduct business in 

these areas.

Officials from all but one federal agency—SBA—that we contacted said 

that they did not know of any linguistic or cultural issues that posed a 

barrier for minority-owned businesses seeking to contract with the 

government. SBA officials told us that cultural barriers may be a 

challenge for minority-owned businesses seeking federal government 

contracts and emphasized that minority-owned businesses would be 

hesitant to reveal any linguistic barriers. The officials noted that some 

cultural barriers existed for Asian-Americans, Alaskan Natives, NativeAmericans, and Native Hawaiians, because their traditional ways of 

conducting business involved intangibles that did not translate well into a 

“faceless” electronic contracting community. These officials also said that 

some minority-owned businesses may have informal business 

practices—for example, they may obtain financing from a friend or family 

member instead of through a bank—and therefore a business owner 

might not have the documentation required by some federal programs.

As we have previously noted, federal agencies conduct outreach to help 

minority-owned businesses seeking federal government contracts. For 

example, federal contracting officials with whom we spoke cited “industry 

days,” conferences, and meetings with businesses as efforts to help 

businesses address challenges they could face in seeking federal 

contracts. During industry days small businesses are invited to meet 

prime contractors in their industries and potentially obtain subcontracts. 

Businesses can also interact directly with contracting office staff. For 

example, contracting officers said that they participated in panel 

discussions to provide business owners with information on the 

acquisition process and forecasts of contract opportunities. Contracting 

officers also accept requests from business owners that schedule 

meetings to discuss their business capabilities. Many agency officials, 

including an OSDBU official and contracting officials, told us they also 

work with and refer businesses to Procurement Technical Assistance 

Centers (PTAC) so that the businesses may receive one-on-one 

assistance.

Agency outreach to businesses is generally directed by agency OSDBUs, 

the agencies’ advocates for small businesses. OSDBU directors use a 

variety of methods—including internal and external collaboration, 

Agency Outreach Efforts 

Help Address Some 

Challenges Facing Small 

and Minority-Owned 

Businesses
 

Page 16 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

outreach to small businesses, and oversight of agency small business 

contracting—to help small businesses overcome challenges they may 

face such as understanding the federal contracting process. OSDBU 

officials from three federal agencies we contacted indicated that they 

collaborate with several agency offices, such as acquisition and small 

business specialists, and with organizations such as MBDA. We 

previously reported that nearly all of the OSDBU directors saw outreach 

activities as a function of their office.27 For example, 23 of the 25 OSDBU 

directors we surveyed between November and December 2010 viewed 

hosting conferences for small businesses as one of their responsibilities, 

and 23 had hosted such conferences. More specifically, these 23 

agencies had hosted an average of 20 conferences within the previous 2 

years. In addition, 20 of the 25 OSDBU directors surveyed saw 

sponsoring training programs for small businesses as one of their 

responsibilities, and 18 had hosted such events in the last 2 years.

Federal agencies we contacted generally collect and report information 

on contracting assistance they provide to small and small disadvantaged 

businesses. Federal agencies are required to report annually to SBA on 

participation in the agency’s contracting activities by small disadvantaged 

businesses, veteran-owned small businesses (including service-disabled 

veterans), qualified HUBZone small businesses, and women-owned small 

businesses. SBA compiles and analyzes the information and reports the 

results to the President and Congress.28

 

27GAO, Small Business Contracting: Action Needed by Those Agencies Whose 

Advocates Do Not Report to Agency Heads as Required, 

Agencies are also required to 

report to SBA plans to achieve their contracting goals, which can include 

outreach activities. In addition, Executive Order 11,625 requires the 

Secretary of Commerce—the umbrella agency of MBDA—and other 

agencies to report annually on activities related to minority business 

development and to provide other information as requested. Finally, 

federal agencies are also required to develop and implement systematic 

GAO-11-418 (Washington, D.C.: 

June 3, 2011). 

2815 U.S.C. § 644(h).

Federal Agencies 

Collect Some 

Information on 

Contracting 

Assistance Provided 

to Minority-Owned 

Businesses
 

Page 17 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

data collection processes and provide MBDA with current data that will 

help in evaluating and promoting minority business development efforts.29

A majority of the federal agencies we contacted told us that the extent to 

which they met SBA prime and subcontracting goals for the various 

socioeconomic categories of businesses (including the small 

disadvantaged business goal) provided a measure of their efforts to assist 

minority-owned businesses in contracting with the federal government. As 

figure 1 shows, in fiscal year 2011 the federal government met its 5 

percent goal for prime contracting and subcontracting with small 

disadvantaged businesses. In addition, all four agencies we reviewed met 

their prime contracting goals of 5 percent, and three met their 5 percent 

subcontracting goals for this category. Contracting officials at these 

agencies generally attributed their success in contracting with small 

businesses—including small disadvantaged businesses—to a variety of 

factors, including support from the agency OSDBU and upper 

management, staff commitment, and the use of set-asides. They also 

noted several other factors that contributed to their contracting 

performance, including market research, a strategy for small businesses, 

and outreach efforts. Federal agency officials also said that some 

outreach activities might be targeted to certain socioeconomic categories 

to assist in meeting agency SBA goals. For example, DHS contracting 

office officials said that as a result of monitoring their progress in meeting 

SBA goals, they conducted outreach to women-owned and HUBZone 

businesses with contract set-asides.

 

29Exec. Order No. 11,625, Prescribing Additional Arrangements for Developing and 

Coordinating a National Program for Minority Business Enterprise, 36 Fed. Reg. 19,967 

(Oct. 13, 1971). 
 

Page 18 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Figure 1: Government-wide and Selected Agency Prime and Subcontracting Goal 

Achievement, Small Disadvantaged Businesses, Fiscal Year 2011

SBA also issues an annual scorecard as an assessment tool to measure 

how well federal agencies reach their small business and socioeconomic 

prime contracting and subcontracting goals, to provide accurate and 

transparent contracting data, and to report agency-specific progress. An 

overall grade assesses an agency’s entire small business procurement 

performance, and three quantitative measures show achievements in 

prime contracting, subcontracting, and plan progress, or an agency’s 
 

Page 19 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

efforts and practices to meet its contracting goals.30

Two agencies we reviewed collected and reported data by minority group. 

For example, MBDA reports data categorized by minority group, on 

contracting assistance that its business centers provide as required by 

executive order. For fiscal year 2011, MBDA reported that its business 

centers helped minority-owned businesses obtain 1,108 transactions (the 

sum of contracts and financings) totaling over $3.9 billion (see table 1).

An overall grade is 

given for government-wide performance, and individual agencies receive 

their own grades. For fiscal year 2011, SBA gave a grade of “B” for 

overall government-wide performance. For the federal agencies that we 

included in our analysis, GSA scored an overall grade of A+, DHS and 

HHS scored an overall grade of A, and DOD scored an overall grade of B.

31

 

30The three quantitative measures are weighted and assigned different percentages. 

Prime contracting achievement equals 80 percent, subcontracting achievement 10 

percent, and the agency’s progress plan for meeting its goals 10 percent, for a total of 100 

percent. SBA changed the scorecard methodology in fiscal year 2009, moving from a 

color-based methodology that used three potential grade ranges (green, yellow, red) to 

letter grades, with six potential grade ranges (A+, A, B, C, D, F). According to SBA, 

expanding the number of grade ranges allows for a clearer distinction among different 

agencies’ performance. In addition, SBA incorporated two measurements—subcontracting 

and plan performance—that help explain the totality of an agency’s small business efforts. 

There are nine plan progress elements, including demonstrating top-level agency 

commitment to small business contracting and implementing a strategy to increase the 

number of competitively awarded contracts to small businesses. Previous scorecards only 

addressed prime contracting achievement and did not offer an overall grade to assess 

agencies’ comprehensive procurement practices. 

31MBDA defines the dollar value of transactions as the total principal value of approved 

loans, equity financings, bonds, leases (property and equipment), assets under 

management, or other binding financial agreements secured by clients of the project. 

Further, eligible financial transactions are those that have a specific dollar value that 

expands a client’s capital base and operations or produces some other direct commercial 

benefit.
 

Page 20 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Table 1: MBDA Client Assistance by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011

Minority 

groups

Number of 

contracts

Number of 

financings

Total 

transactions

Dollar value of 

contracts

Dollar value of 

financings

Total dollar value 

of awards

African 

American 

217 102 319 $1,264,362,499 $826,639,729 $2,091,002,228

Asian 

American 

23 28 51 114,456,719 24,444,285 138,901,004

Asian Indian 16 18 34 58,707,052 19,956,625 78,663,677

Asian Pacific 

American 

27 10 37 12,817,685 16,606,632 29,424,317

Hasidic Jew 63 3 66 17,025,583 74,210,000 91,235,583

Hispanic 

American 

155 76 231 539,874,743 438,981,088 978,855,831

Native 

American 

217 51 268 126,392,998 409,191,757 535,584,755

Other 

minority

59 43 102 980,134 12,569,948 13,550,082

Total 777 331 1,108 $2,134,617,413 $1,822,600,064 $3,957,217,477

Source: MBDA.

SBA also collects some information for its various programs, including 

information by minority group for the 8(a) Business Development 

Program, as required by statute.32

 

32The Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 requires that SBA report the 

race or ethnicity, and gender, of business owners that participate in the 8(a) program. 15 

U.S.C. 636(j)(16)(B)(iv).

For example, SBA reported that of the 

7,814 8(a) program participants in fiscal year 2011—the most recent data 

available—more than 90 percent of the participants were minority-owned 

businesses (see fig. 2). SBA also reported that 8(a) program participants 

reported total year-end revenues exceeding $21.7 billion in fiscal year 

2010, with 43.4 percent of these revenues coming from 8(a) contracts. 

During that same year, SBA provided technical assistance to 2,000 8(a) 

businesses. SBA officials we interviewed said that SBA generally did not 

collect information by minority group for any of its other programs.
 

Page 21 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Figure 2: 8(a) Program Participants, by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011

a

According to SBA, the category of “other American” includes individuals who select this category, 

who select “no ethnicity”, who select categories that are not considered an ethnicity or race, and who 

make no selection at all. In SBA’s fiscal year 2011 survey of 8(a) participants, “other American” 

included 221 Alaskan Native corporations, 80 tribally owned organizations, 17 Native Hawaiian 

organizations, and 2 community development organizations. 

Most federal agencies that we contacted indicated that they collected 

some general information on outreach events and activities and some 

demographic data, although collecting such data was not required. For 

example, for outreach events such as the Minority Enterprise 

Development week conference, MBDA officials told us that they collect 

general demographic information from participants on their businesses 

and experience, but not by minority group. The officials told us that they 

also collect aggregated data on its outreach activities for minority-owned 

businesses, such as number of meetings and participants. For example, 

MBDA officials told us that they conducted 119 of the 129 one-on-one 

meetings scheduled between minority-owned and small businesses and 

corporations and prime contractors during this event.
 

Page 22 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Officials from DOD, DHS, GSA, and HHS said that they asked 

participants in their outreach events questions (sometimes by survey or 

evaluation) about the value or helpfulness of the events. Officials from 

three agencies noted that they used the survey results to determine the 

effectiveness of, or how to improve, the event. In addition, agencies may 

ask questions to obtain general information about a business and 

potentially its socioeconomic status. Officials also said that they collected 

some information by socioeconomic group, but none by minority group.

Finally, the OSDBU Council—which comprises OSDBU officials from 

various federal agencies—hosts an annual procurement conference that 

provides assistance to businesses seeking federal government contracts, 

and some information is collected for this event.33 According to the 

council’s website, more than 3,500 people registered for the 2012 

conference, and more than 130 matchmaking sessions were conducted. 

According to the council’s president, 2012 is the first year that such 

information was collected.

We provided a draft of this report to Commerce, DHS, DOD, GSA, HHS, 

and SBA for review and comment and received comments only from 

Commerce. Commerce provided written comments which are reprinted in 

appendix V.

Commerce made two observations on our draft report. First, the 

department stated that the report was a good start at capturing the federal 

government’s effort to support small, minority-owned businesses, but did 

not include all federal programs that supported federal contracting with 

minority-owned businesses. The department added that GAO had missed 

an opportunity to provide a more comprehensive picture of the federal 

government’s efforts in this area, noting, for example, that the 

Departments of Agriculture, Housing and Urban Development, and 

Transportation had programs (other than OSDBUs) geared toward 

increasing federal contracts with minority-owned firms. In addition, the 

department stated that an Office of Minority and Women Inclusion was 

recently established at each of the financial regulatory agencies. While 

 

33The OSDBU Council is an informal organization led by the OSDBU directors, who work 

with SBA and other stakeholders on federal small business contracting programs. The 

OSDBU Council also discusses and exchanges information on outreach events with small 

businesses to assist agencies in their small business contracting efforts.

Agency Comments

and Our Evaluation
 

Page 23 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

providing support to minority-owned businesses, these agencies and 

offices were outside of the scope of our review, which as we stated in our 

report, focused on the four agencies—DHS, DOD, GSA, and HHS—that 

accounted for about 70 percent of total federal obligations to small, 

minority-owned businesses in fiscal year 2010. We also included SBA 

and Commerce’s MBDA in our review because of their roles in assisting 

minority-owned businesses. We are reviewing the efforts of the Office of 

Minority and Women Inclusion in an ongoing study that will be issued in 

2013.

Second, Commerce noted that although the dollar amount of federal 

contracts obligated to small, minority-owned businesses was 

encouraging, the report did not analyze the number of minority-owned 

firms that actually secured federal contracts. The department said that it 

was possible that a handful of minority-owned firms had secured sizable 

federal contracts but that the majority of minority-owned firms continued 

to fail in obtaining them. However, data are not available on the total 

universe of small, minority-owned businesses that entered bids in 

response to federal contract solicitations. Just as with our reporting of 

funds obligated for contracts, data on the number of minority-owned 

businesses that secured federal contracts would not provide information 

on the number of such businesses that did not obtain them. Likewise, 

while we do report MBDA’s statistics on contracting assistance provided 

to minority-owned businesses, again such data do not provide information 

on how many businesses sought but did not obtain federal contracts. We 

conducted interviews with officials from MBDA, SBA, contracting offices 

at the federal agencies in our scope, and advocacy groups to obtain their 

perspectives on the challenges minority-owned businesses may face in 

seeking to contract with the federal government.

We are sending copies of this report to appropriate congressional 

committees; the Attorney General; the Secretaries of Defense, Homeland 

Security, and Health and Human Services; the Acting Secretary of 

Commerce; and the Administrators of the General Services 

Administration and Small Business Administration. In addition, this report 

will be available at no charge on the GAO website at http://www.gao.gov.

If you or your staff have any questions on the matters discussed in this 

report, please contact me at (202) 512-8678 or by email at 

shearw@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional 

Relations and Public Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. 
 

Page 24 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

GAO staff who made major contributions to this report are listed in 

appendix VI. 

William B. Shear

Director, Financial Markets and 

Community Investment 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 25 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Our objectives were to describe: (1) what federal agency officials and 

advocacy groups identified as challenges that small, minority-owned 

businesses may face in seeking to contract with the federal government—

including any linguistic or cultural barriers—and agencies’ efforts to 

address them, and (2) what information is available on federal efforts to 

assist small, minority-owned businesses in contracting with the federal 

government.

To determine which programs and resources to include in our scope, we 

conducted a web-based search for initial information on programs and 

resources available from federal government agencies using terms such 

as contracting assistance for minorities. We analyzed information on 

programs that provide federal contracting assistance and resources on 

contracting opportunities, and are available to minority-owned 

businesses. We describe programs and resources provided by the 

Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) as they are tasked with 

the growth and promotion of minority-owned businesses. We also 

describe programs and resources available from the Small Business 

Administration (SBA), as this agency is responsible for providing 

assistance to small businesses—which can be minority owned—and 

programs and resources available from other selected federal agencies 

based on the criteria described below.1

To select agencies to include in our scope, we reviewed data from 

Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG) on 

contract awards to small businesses owned by the minority groups in our 

scope by federal agency. Although we could not independently verify the 

reliability of these data, we reviewed system documentation and 

conducted electronic data testing for obvious errors in accuracy and 

completeness. On the basis of these efforts, we determined that the 

FPDS-NG data on federal contract dollars to socioeconomic groups by 

self-reported minority group were sufficiently reliable for purposes of our 

Finally, we interviewed officials 

from these selected agencies and advocacy groups that provide 

assistance to businesses owned by Asian-, Black-, Hispanic-, and NativeAmericans. We selected these minority groups because they received the 

largest share of federal obligations to small, minority-owned businesses 

based on business owners self-identifying as a member of these groups.

 

1

We did not include all programs and resources that provide government contracting 

assistance and information to minority-owned businesses. 

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 26 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

review. We selected the top four agencies that accounted for about 70 

percent of total federal obligations to small, minority-owned businesses in 

fiscal year 2010—the most recent data available at the time of our 

selections. These agencies were the Departments of Defense (DOD), 

Health and Human Services (HHS), and Homeland Security (DHS), and, 

the General Services Administration (GSA).

To select a purposive, non-representative sample of contracting offices 

for purposes of conducting interviews, we first selected the top two 

divisions within DOD, DHS, and HHS in terms of the percentage of their 

agency’s obligations to small, minority-owned businesses.2

To describe the challenges that small, minority-owned businesses may 

face in contracting with the federal government, we interviewed agency 

officials—including those from contracting offices and the Office of Small

Disadvantaged Business Utilization—from the purposive, nonrepresentative sample of eight contracting offices. We also interviewed 

officials from MBDA and SBA. Further, we conducted interviews with 

officials from 12 advocacy groups. We selected groups that provided 

assistance to businesses owned by the minority groups in our scope 

based on a web-based search on national organizations that represent 

and provide assistance to minority-owned businesses in obtaining federal 

Those 

divisions included the Departments of the Army and Navy for DOD; the 

Bureau of Customs and Border Protection and the United States Coast 

Guard for DHS, and the National Institute of Health and the Centers for 

Medicaid and Medicare for HHS. We selected only one division for 

GSA—the Public Buildings Service—as this division represented over 76 

percent of GSA’s funds obligated for contracts to small, minority-owned 

businesses. Using this approach, we selected a total of seven divisions 

within the four agencies in our scope. Within each division, we selected 

one of the top contracting offices based on the office’s percentage of their 

division’s obligations to businesses owned by the minority groups in our 

scope. We selected two contracting offices from the Department of the 

Army because the percentage of obligations to small, minority-owned 

businesses by any of its top contracting offices was small. Our final 

sample consisted of eight contracting offices.

 

2

The purpose of our sampling approach was to identify agency officials who may have 

experience with the challenges faced by small, minority owned businesses. Because we 

did not use a random sample, findings cannot be generalized and may not represent the 

entire population of small, minority owned businesses. 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 27 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

contracts. To describe information on improving access to services for 

persons with limited English proficiency, we reviewed Executive Order 

13,166—Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English 

Proficiency (LEP)—to understand its applicability to outreach activities

associated with federal contracting. We reviewed guidance from the 

Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as existing LEP plans for each 

agency in our scope. We could not review the LEP plans for DOD and for 

SBA, as the plan for each agency had not yet been completed. We also 

obtained and reviewed written responses from DOJ.

To describe the information available on the extent of federal efforts to 

assist small, minority-owned businesses in contracting with the federal 

government, we reviewed federal government prime contracting and 

subcontracting goals and SBA procurement scorecards for fiscal year 

2011 for DOD, HHS, DHS and GSA. We also reviewed documentation for 

programs that assist small businesses owned and controlled by socially 

and economically disadvantaged individuals—which can include 

businesses that are minority-owned—to determine the types of 

contracting assistance available. We conducted interviews with officials 

from the selected agencies and contracting offices to identify and obtain 

available information on their outreach efforts to assist minority-owned 

businesses. In addition, we conducted interviews with officials from 12 

advocacy groups that provide contracting assistance to the minority 

groups in our scope.

For information on the percentage of funds obligated for contracts in fiscal 

year 2011 to each socioeconomic category of small businesses by 

minority group—including small disadvantaged, women-owned, servicedisabled veteran-owned, and Historically Underutilized Business Zone 

(HUBZone)—we analyzed data from FPDS-NG, which receives data from 

the Central Contractor Registration System (CCR)—the system in which 

all businesses seeking federal government contracts must register. In 

CCR, registrants (i.e., business owners) can self identify as minorityowned and can specify a minority group(s). Registrants can select from 

the following six categories: Asian Pacific, Subcontinent Asian, BlackAmerican, Hispanic-American, Native-American, and Other. We 

conducted electronic testing for obvious errors in accuracy and 

completeness. As a part of this assessment, we analyzed the FPDS-NG 

data to determine cases in which contracting firms were identified as 

belonging to a particular minority group, such as Subcontinent Asian, but 

did not designate the firm as being minority-owned. This occurred in less 

than 3 percent of the cases. We conducted the same assessment within 

different socioeconomic categories, such as small disadvantaged 
Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and 

Methodology

Page 28 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

business, and found a potential undercount of the minority-owned 

designation in less than 4 percent of the cases. In addition, businesses 

that selected “other minority” and those that self-identified as more than 

one minority group were categorized as other minority. We determined 

the minority-owned designations data were sufficiently reliable for the 

purposes of our report. However, because we cannot verify the minority 

group that contractors self-report, we characterize these data as selfreported.

We conducted this performance audit from November 2011 through 

September 2012 in accordance with generally accepted government 

auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the 

audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable 

basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We 

believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our 

findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives.
Appendix II: Percentage of Obligated Funds for 

Contracts to Socioeconomic Categories by 

Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 

Page 29 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

We analyzed data from the Federal Procurement Data System – Next 

Generation to determine the amount of obligated funds for contracts that 

federal agencies made to small businesses by minority group for fiscal 

year 2011. As figure 3 shows, the federal government obligated over $36 

billion (35.1 percent) to small, minority-owned businesses in fiscal year 

2011.

Figure 3: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011

Note: Data are as of February 2012. The dollars reported are in obligations and minority designations 

are self-reported. Businesses that self identified as “other minority” and those that selected more than 

one minority category were designated as other minority. Nonminority includes those that did not 

select any minority category. 

. 

Appendix II: Percentage of Obligated Funds 

for Contracts to Socioeconomic Categories 

by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011
Appendix II: Percentage of Obligated Funds for 

Contracts to Socioeconomic Categories by 

Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 

Page 30 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Figure 4 shows the amount of federal obligated funds for contracts to 

small disadvantaged businesses. For example, about $28.8 billion (85.6 

percent) was obligated to small disadvantaged businesses that were 

minority-owned.

Figure 4: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small Disadvantaged Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 

2011

Note: Data are as of February 2012. The dollars reported are in obligations and minority designations 

are self-reported. Businesses that self identified as “other minority” and those that selected more than 

one minority category were designated as other minority. Nonminority includes those that did not 

select any minority category. 

. 
Appendix II: Percentage of Obligated Funds for 

Contracts to Socioeconomic Categories by 

Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 

Page 31 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Figures 5 shows the amount of federal obligated funds for contracts to 

small women-owned businesses. For example, $8.2 billion (45.7) percent 

were obligated to small women-owned businesses that were minorityowned.

Figure 5: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small Women-Owned Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 

2011

Note: Data are as of February 2012. The dollars reported are in obligations and minority designations 

are self-reported. Businesses that self identified as “other minority” and those that selected more than 

one minority category were designated as other minority. Nonminority includes those that did not 

select any minority category. 

. 
Appendix II: Percentage of Obligated Funds for 

Contracts to Socioeconomic Categories by 

Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 

Page 32 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Figure 6 shows the amount of federal obligated funds for contracts to 

small HUBZone businesses. For example, nearly $5.5 billion (54.3 

percent) were obligated to small HUBZone businesses that were minorityowned.

Figure 6: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small HUBZone Businesses by Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011

Note: Data are as of February 2012. The dollars reported are in obligations and minority designations 

are self-reported. Businesses that self identified as “other minority” and those that selected more than 

one minority category were designated as other minority. Nonminority includes those that did not 

select any minority category. 

. 
Appendix II: Percentage of Obligated Funds for 

Contracts to Socioeconomic Categories by 

Minority Group, Fiscal Year 2011 

Page 33 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Figure 7 shows the amount of federal obligated funds for contracts to 

small service-disabled veteran-owned businesses. For example, nearly 

$3.9 billion (33 percent) were obligated to small service-disabled veteranowned businesses that were minority-owned.

Figure 7: Percentage of Obligated Funds for Contracts to Small Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses by Minority 

Group, Fiscal Year 2011

Note: Data are as of February 2012. The dollars reported are in obligations and minority designations 

are self-reported. Businesses that self identified as “other minority” and those that selected more than 

one minority category were designated as other minority. Nonminority includes those that did not 

select any minority category. 

. 
Appendix III: Selected Federal Government 

Contracting Programs, Resources, and 

Outreach Activities

Page 34 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

This table shows programs, resources, outreach activities, and examples 

of contracting assistance that agencies provide to assist minority-owned 

businesses in contracting with the federal government.

Table 2: Selected Federal Programs, Resources and Outreach Activities

Program or resource

(agency) Description Examples of contracting assistance provided

Programs

Business Centers

(MBDA) 

MBDA funds a nationwide network of 

business centers which operate as 

public/private partnerships that provide 

direct client assistance and educate 

businesses on how to do business with 

the federal government and private 

sector. 

• Identification of procurement opportunities based on 

client needs and sourcing deals

• Solicitation analysis

• Bid and proposal preparation

• Research contract award histories

• Post-award contract administration

• Central contractor registration

• Certification assistance

Federal Procurement Center 

(FPC) 

(MBDA) 

Supported by MBDA’s new 

Governmental Procurement Unit, the 

FPC is the first business center in the 

U.S. that assists minority-owned 

businesses in competing for and 

winning federal government contracts.

• Identification of federal procurement opportunities

• Facilitation of relationships between minority-owned 

businesses and federal program managers

• Research on federal agency contracting trends

• Information on federal regulations and contracting 

requirements

• Linking minority-owned businesses with other companies 

to develop strategic partnerships

8(a) Business Development 

Program

(SBA) 

The 8(a) program is a 9-year 

developmental program that provides 

technical and management assistance 

to businesses so that they can become 

competitive in the federal marketplace.

• 8(a) businesses may be eligible for set-asides, awards 

exclusively for program participants

Procurement Assistance to 

Small Businesses Program

This program assists small businesses 

in obtaining a fair share of contracts 

and subcontracts for federal 

government supplies and services and 

a fair share of property sold by the 

government.

• Application of small business set-asides to increase 

procurement to small businesses

• Consultation with procuring activities on structuring of 

procurement and sales planning to optimize small 

business participation

• Review and analysis of small businesses’ capacity

• Review of subcontracting plans and programs of large 

prime contractors to determine the extent that they are 

providing subcontracting opportunities to the SBA 

socioeconomic categories.

Appendix III: Selected Federal Government 

Contracting Programs, Resources, and 

Outreach Activities 
Appendix III: Selected Federal Government 

Contracting Programs, Resources, and 

Outreach Activities

Page 35 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Program or resource

(agency) Description Examples of contracting assistance provided

Procurement Technical 

Assistance Cooperative 

Agreement Program (PTAP)

(DOD)

PTAP was created to generate 

employment and to improve the 

general economy of a locality by 

assisting business firms in obtaining 

and performing under federal, state, 

and local government contracts. 

PTAP established Procurement Technical Assistance 

Centers (PTAC) that assist small businesses seeking to 

contract with DOD and with other agencies by providing the 

following:

• counseling,

• matchmaking, and

• assistance with online database registration

Mentor-Protégé Program

(Various) 

The mentor-protégé program includes 

an arrangement in which mentors—

typically businesses that are 

experienced prime contractors—

provide technical, managerial, and 

other business development 

assistance to eligible small 

businesses.

Mentor-protégé agreements authorize a broad array of 

developmental assistance such as

• assistance in obtaining certifications needed to work on 

large federal government contracts

• contract administration

• loans and award of subcontracts on a noncompetitive 

basis

Other Resources

a

Office of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business 

Utilization (Various)

OSDBUs are advocates for contracting 

opportunities for small and 

disadvantaged businesses.

OSDBUs functions include

• identifying proposed solicitations that involve significant 

bundling of contract requirements

• working with agency procurement officials to revise such 

proposed solicitations to increase the probability of 

participation by a small business

• advising agency leadership on small business matters

• providing direction for developing and implementing 

policies and initiatives to help ensure that small 

businesses have the opportunity to compete for and 

receive a fair share of agency procurements

Procurement Center 

Representatives

(SBA) 

PCRs help ensure that small 

businesses gain access to contracting 

opportunities.

PCR’s key responsibilities include

• reviewing proposed agency solicitations—such as 

potentially bundled and consolidated solicitations

• making set-aside recommendations to agency 

contracting officers

• reviewing agency small business programs

• counseling small businesses

Commercial Market 

Representatives (CMR)

b

(SBA) 

CMRs help ensure that small 

businesses gain access to 

subcontracting opportunities.

CMRs’ key responsibilities include

• counseling small businesses on marketing themselves to 

prime contractors

• counseling large prime contractors on maximizing 

subcontracting opportunities for small businesses

• facilitating the matching of prime contractors with small 

businesses
Appendix III: Selected Federal Government 

Contracting Programs, Resources, and 

Outreach Activities

Page 36 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Program or resource

(agency) Description Examples of contracting assistance provided

Minority Enterprise 

Development (MED) Week 

Conference

(MBDA) 

MED Week Conference, one of 

MBDA’s primary outreach efforts, 

offers thousands of minority-owned 

businesses across a variety of 

industries the opportunity to connect 

with buyers, and access information, 

tools, and resources to grow their 

businesses.

During MED Week, businesses are provided the following 

assistance

• 15-minute appointments with federal and corporate 

partners to discuss upcoming contracting opportunities

• educational sessions on topics such as capital access

• discussions about federal contracting opportunities with 

representatives from agencies’ Offices of Small and 

Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) 

Federal Business 

Opportunities

(www.FedBizOpps.gov) 

FedBizOpps is the single point

of entry for federal buyers to publish 

and for businesses to find federal 

business opportunities over $25,000 

across departments and agencies.

Businesses can conduct ad hoc searches or set up automatic 

queries to notify them when opportunities meeting their 

criteria are posted

BusinessUSA 

(www.businessusa.gov) 

BusinessUSA is a centralized, onestop platform for businesses to access 

services to help them grow and hire. 

The site allows small businesses and exporters to use 

technology to quickly connect to the services and information 

relevant to them, regardless of where the information is 

located or which agency’s website, call center, or office they 

go to for help

USA Spending

(www.usaspending.gov) 

USAspending.gov is a free, publicly 

accessible website containing data on 

federal awards (e.g., contracts, loans, 

grants) across the government. 

For each award, the site includes

• the name of the entity receiving the award

• the amount of the award

• information on the award such as transaction type and 

funding agency

• the location of the entity receiving the award

• a unique identifier of the entity receiving the award

Federal Procurement Data 

System- Next Generation 

(FPDS-NG)

FPDS-NG is a comprehensive webbased tool and database that functions 

as a clearinghouse for all federal 

contract actions exceeding $3,000.

FPDS-NG allows businesses to obtain information on how 

federal contract funds are being spent government-wide

Outreach activities 

Matchmaking Events

(Various) 

Matchmaking events are held around 

the country to give business owners 

the opportunity to meet prime 

contractors and agency contracting 

officers. 

During matchmaking events businesses are provided the 

following assistance

• insights into doing business with agencies

• cultivating effective relationships with prime contractors

Vendor Outreach Sessions Monthly sessions consisting of 10-to 

15-minute appointments with either 

agency officials (such as small 

business or procurement officials) or 

prime contractors that have 

subcontracting needs. The sessions 

may be geared to SBA socioeconomic 

categories.

Vendor outreach sessions include

• discussions on business’ capabilities

• information on potential contracting opportunities

• meetings with individuals who have decision-making 

responsibilities

Source: GAO analysis of agency programs, resources and outreach activities. 
Appendix III: Selected Federal Government 

Contracting Programs, Resources, and 

Outreach Activities

Page 37 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

a

We identified 13 federal agencies that have mentor-protégé programs: the Department of Homeland 

Security, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of State, Environmental 

Protection Agency, Federal Aviation Administration, General Services Administration, Department of 

Health and Human Services, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Small Business 

Administration, Department of the Treasury, United States Agency for International Development, and 

Department of Veterans Affairs. See GAO, Mentor-Protégé Programs Have Polices That Aim to 

Benefit Participants but Do Not Require Postagreement Tracking, GAO-11-548R (Washington, D.C.: 

June 15, 2011). 

b

Bundling of contract requirements means the consolidation of two or more procurement 

requirements for goods or services previously provided or performed under separate smaller 

contracts into a solicitation of offers for a single contract that is likely to be unsuitable for award to a 

small business concern for various reasons. 15 U.S.C. § 632(o). 
Appendix IV: Potential Applicability of the 

Limited English Proficiency Executive Order to 

Federal Contracting

Page 38 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Executive Order 13,166, Improving Access to Services for Persons with 

Limited English Proficiency, issued on August 11, 2000, requires federal 

agencies to prepare a plan to improve access to federally conducted 

programs and activities for those with limited English proficiency (LEP).1

According to DOJ guidance issued on August 16, 2000 and available at 

LEP.GOV, the four factors to be considered in determining what 

constitutes “reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access” include 

(1) the number or proportion of such individuals in the eligible population, 

(2) the frequency with which they come into contact with the program, 

(3) the importance of the service provided by the program, and (4) the 

resources available to the recipients. In May 2011, DOJ also issued a 

Language Access Assessment and Planning Tool for Federally 

Conducted and Federally Assisted Programs to provide guidance to 

recipients of federal financial assistance and federal agencies. The first 

step in the assessment tool is a self-assessment that determines what 

type of contact an agency has with the LEP population and describes the 

elements that are part of effective language access policy directives and 

implementation plans.

Under the order, federal agencies must take reasonable steps to provide 

meaningful access to persons with LEP for federally conducted programs 

and activities. In addition, the Department of Justice (DOJ) serves as a 

central repository for agency plans to address LEP and provides 

guidance to agencies for developing such plans.

DOJ officials told us that Executive Order 13,166 regarding LEP generally 

applied to outreach activities associated with federal contracting. The 

officials added that DOJ had not issued specific guidance related to the 

order on outreach to minority-owned businesses seeking to contract with 

the federal government. In addition, the planning tool does not provide 

guidance on outreach activities associated with federal contracting. 

According to DOJ officials,

“Generally, current practice with regard to announcing federal government contracts and 

grants would not be altered under the Executive Order. In determining what is required, 

the focus of the analysis in this situation is on the first factor—the number or proportion of 

eligible LEP persons. Except, perhaps, in territories, it is reasonable to expect that the 

number or proportion of eligible contract or grant recipients who are LEP and are 

 

1

65 Fed. Reg. 50,121 (Aug. 11, 2000).

Appendix IV: Potential Applicability of the 

Limited English Proficiency Executive Order 

to Federal Contracting
Appendix IV: Potential Applicability of the 

Limited English Proficiency Executive Order to 

Federal Contracting

Page 39 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

themselves attempting to find and respond to announcements of grants and contracts is 

negligible.” 

Federal agency officials and advocacy groups we spoke with cited 

linguistic barriers as a challenge on a limited basis. In addition, few 

agencies had taken action to address possible linguistic barriers, and 

most told us that they had not taken such action because they had not 

encountered this challenge. For example, based on its efforts as of July 

2012, GSA found that only one region reported significant contact with 

persons with LEP.
Appendix V: Comments from the Department 

of Commerce

Page 40 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

Appendix V: Comments from the Department 

of Commerce
Appendix V: Comments from the Department 

of Commerce

Page 41 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 
Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments

Page 42 GAO-12-873 Federal Contracting with Minority-Owned Businesses 

William B. Shear, (202) 512-8678 or shearw@gao.gov

In addition to the contact named above, Marshall Hamlett (Assistant 

Director), Emily Chalmers, Pamela Davidson, Meredith Graves, Julia 

Kennon, Shamiah T. Kerney, Katherine Leigey, and Andrew J. Stephens 

made key contributions to this report.

Appendix VI: GAO Contact and Staff 

Acknowledgments 

GAO Contact

Staff 

Acknowledgments

(250645)
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