Date: 2015-05-14
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H

Let me thank the chairman of the full committee. the gentleman from Texas. and the ranking member. the gentleman from Washington. and the manager who is managing. my dear friend from Rhode Island. for their leadership on many. many issues. All of us have encountered the very energetic small business community. Included in that. of course. are women and minorityowned businesses. They are a vital part of our community. In the State of Texas. we are very much engaged with our military bases. Over the years. we have had any number of them. very large facilities. In my own community. we have the Ellington base that we have retrofitted and improved and added a number of assets. This amendment speaks to the compatibility between the Department of Defense and its needs and the small and minority and womenowned businesses and asks the Secretary of Defense to outreach to these minority and women and small businesses. as a way of ensuring the growth of their businesses and the utilization of their services for that of the DOD. The Jackson Lee amendment will help the United States maintain the most talented. diverse. effective. and powerful workforce in an increasingly globalized economy. Why? Because our small businesses located in our neighborhoods and our communities are there to create opportunity and to create jobsas a practical matter. the Department of Defense has the discretion to choose whether a contract can be insourced or outsourced. We would ask that they look at the minority businesses in the area as they make those determinations. Since March of 2009. it is understood that certain Federal contracts that were formerly completed by civilian contracts would be looked at in a different way. We ask that the assessment of the value of small businesses be considered and. in particular. be considered on how many jobs are created and also the importance of a healthy and diverse small business community. I would ask my colleagues to support this amendment and just want to particularly say that. in my home city of Houston. Texas. it is home to more than 60.000 womenowned businesses and more than 60.000 African Americanowned businesses and thousands upon thousands of Hispanic businesses. In fact. just this past week. I visited two of my manufacturing companies. one of them a member of the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I ask my colleagues to support the amendment. and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. Chair. I have an amendment at the desk. it is listed as #55 on the roster. The Jackson Lee Amendment requires the Secretary of Defense to conduct outreach for small business concerns owned and controlled by women and minorities prior to the outsourcing of military contracts related to local military bases. I would like to thank both Chairman THORNBERRY and Ranking Member SMITH for their dedication and hard work on this important piece of legislation which ensures that our men and women in uniform have the resources they need and deserve. Throughout my tenure in Congress. I have sponsored legislation that promotes economic opportunity and inclusion for women. veterans. and minority businesses. The Jackson Lee Amendment will help the United States maintain the most talented. diverse. effective. and powerful workforce in an increasingly globalized economy. The Jackson Lee Amendment requires the Department of Defense to consider the impact that changes to current outsourcing guidelines will have on small minority and women owned business by requiring them to engage with these businesses. Promoting diversity is more than just an idea. it requires an understanding that there is a need to have a process that will ensure the inclusion of minorities and women in all areas of American life. As a practical matter the Department of Defense has the discretion to choose whether a contract should be insourced or outsourced. Since March of 2009 it is understood that certain federal contracts that were formerly completed by civilian contractors would be returned to federal employees. It is important to find balance between contracts that should be conducted by the federal government versus civilian contractors. As it stands the policies implemented by the DOD has the unintended consequence of harming small minority and women owned businesses by taking away civilian contracts that are not inherently serving a federal government purpose such as janitorial services. painting buildings. mowing lawns and related activities. These service contracts which tend to be the bread and butter for minority and women owned business are slowly being withdrawn and returned to the federal government. I have worked hard to help small business owners to fully realize their potential. That is why I support entrepreneurial development programs. including the Small Business Development Center and Womens Business Center programs. These initiatives provide counseling in a variety of critical areas. including business plan development. finance. and marketing. My amendment would require the Department of Defense to utilize a similar outreach program prior to outsourcing. Outreach is key to developing healthy and diverse small businesses. There are approximately 6 million minority owned businesses in the United States. representing a significant aspect of our economy. According to the most recent available Census data. minority owned businesses employ nearly 6 million Americans and generate $1 trillion dollars in economic output. Women owned businesses have increased 20% between 2002 and 2007. and currently total close to 8 million. My home city of Houston. Texas is home to more than 60.000 women owned businesses. and more than 60.000 African American owned businesses. The Department of Defense (DOD) estimates that during the Vietnam War. the ratio of contractors to soldiers was 1 in 10. This rate increased to about 1 contractor for every soldier during Operation Iraqi Freedom. These contracts generate billions of dollars in revenue for the companies to which they are awarded. A mandatory DOD outreach program would make women and minority owned businesses aware of all of the contract opportunities available to them. Small businesses deserve a fair shot at federal contracts. They have a chance to compete for overseas contracts with the Department of Defense as well as access to international contracts with the United States Agency for International Development. In addition. I believe that work needs to be done to modernize key contracting developmental programs designed to increase opportunities for women. minorities and lowincome individuals. Programs like the Outreach Program that I support through my amendment will reduce the current barriers and ensure small businesses have access to perform federal contracts. This can save taxpayer dollars. because the increased competition for government contracts will lead to better prices and better quality. The vibrancy of our economic prosperity depends on the ability of our nations small business community to adapt to opportunities at home and aboard. Outreach programs that are properly designed and implemented. strengthen the national community. promote its economic wellbeing. and maximize the benefits of our great diversity. The Jackson Lee Amendment ensures that the Department of Defense reaches out to small minority and women owned business to hear their concerns and recognizes the important role they play in revitalizing our economy. I urge all members to support the Jackson Lee Amendment.