According to information contained in the mandate for this report, the number of WOSBs in the United States increased by 78 percent between 1987 and 1996, almost twice the rate of growth of all U.S. businesses. Also, approximately 8 million WOSBs in the United States provide jobs for over 15 million individuals and generate almost $1.4 trillion in sales each year. The administration and the Congress have long been concerned about the disparity between WOSBs’ prevalence in the economy and the level of government procurements of their products and services. In 1979, when an executive order first made SBA responsible for negotiating WOSB contracting goals with federal agencies, WOSBs received only 0.2 percent of all federal procurements. By 1988, this percentage had grown to only 1 percent, and although legislation was enacted to provide a program of assistance and support to WOSBs, no statutory goal for their participation in federal procurements was established until 1994. Section 7106 of the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA) amended the Small Business Act to require establishment of a governmentwide goal for participation by WOSBs in procurement contracts of not less than 5 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards for each fiscal year. The goal was implemented by procurement regulations effective in fiscal year 1996. The FASA conference report indicated that the 5-percent goal was not intended to create a new set-aside or program of restricted competition for WOSBs, but rather to establish a target that would result in greater opportunity for WOSBs to compete for federal contracts. The report recognized that, given the slow progress toward increasing contracting with WOSBs, it could take some time before the goal would be reached. Through FASA, the governmentwide goal of 5 percent for WOSBs joined the existing governmentwide contracting goals in the Small Business Act for small business concerns (then no less than 20 percent of the total value of all prime contract awards for each fiscal year) and small disadvantaged businesses (SDB) (no less than 5 percent of the total value of all prime contract and subcontract awards each year). Under the Small Business Act, all small business goals are to represent for each procuring agency, the “maximum practicable opportunity” for small businesses’ participation in that agency’s contracts. In addition, an agency’s goals are to “realistically reflect the potential of small business concerns” to perform such contracts and subcontracts. At the same time, the cumulative annual goals for all agencies are to meet or exceed the annual governmentwide goal. Also, agencies are to make a consistent effort to annually expand participation by small business concerns in their contracts. Agencies are to report each year to SBA on the extent of participation by small businesses, including WOSBs, as well as any justifications for failure to meet the goals. SBA, in turn, is required to report this information to the President. FASA added WOSBs to the existing policy that small businesses and small disadvantaged businesses have the maximum practicable opportunity to become subcontractors for federal contracts exceeding $100,000 and to receive timely payment from prime contractors. FASA also included WOSBs in the requirement that for contracts exceeding $500,000 (or $1 million for construction contracts) prime contractors prepare subcontracting plans that provide the maximum practicable opportunity for small businesses to participate in the performance of the prime contract. FASA also required agencies to report contracts over a certain dollar threshold with WOSBs to the Federal Procurement Data Center (FPDC). Quarterly, approximately 70 executive branch agencies report contracting data either by individual contract for acquisitions above $25,000 or as summary data for acquisitions at or below $25,000 to FPDC. Twenty of these agencies account for over 99 percent of federal contract expenditures, 4 account for over 85 percent, and 1—the Department of Defense—accounts for over 64 percent. If a business submitting an offer for a federal procurement represents that it is a small business concern, and meets the definition of a WOSB, it can “self-certify” as a WOSB when it completes the small business program representations required in solicitations for procurements above $2,500. In doing so, the business represents (by checking the appropriate box) that it is, or is not, a WOSB. Generally, a contracting agency will accept the self- representation to be accurate. The federal government does not currently require that WOSBs submitting offers as prime contractors on federal procurements receive certification (from SBA or an outside entity) of their status as WOSBs. However, if a WOSB submits an offer for a federal subcontract, the prime contractor may, according to SBA, require certification that the business is in fact woman-owned. Furthermore, a WOSB submitting an offer as an SDB, 8(a) firm, or HUBZone small business will be required to meet the certification requirements for those programs. Both the Congress and the Administration have recently reiterated concern about the continued disparity between the number of WOSBs in the economy and the extent of the government’s contracting with them. As of fiscal year 1999, when women-owned businesses made up 38 percent of all businesses in the United States, WOSBs received 2.5 percent of the approximately $189 billion in federal prime contracts awarded that year. This discrepancy led the Senate to adopt Resolution 311 on May 23, 2000, which urged the President to adopt a policy supporting the 5-percent WOSB contracting goal, encouraged agencies to make concerted efforts to meet the goal before the end of fiscal year 2000, and holds agencies accountable for achieving the goal. Also on May 23, President Clinton, in culmination of work by the Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise, issued Executive Order 13157 to reaffirm the government’s commitment to increasing opportunities for WOSBs in the federal procurement market. The order reiterated executive branch policy to take the steps necessary to meet or exceed the 5-percent governmentwide WOSB contracting goal and to implement this policy by establishing separate 5-percent governmentwide goals for both prime contract awards and subcontract awards each fiscal year. The order requires each agency with procurement authority to develop a long-term comprehensive strategy to expand opportunities for WOSBs. The order lists methods and programs these agency strategies should include, such as designating a senior acquisition official who will work with SBA to identify and promote contracting with WOSBs; requiring contracting officers, to the maximum extent practicable, to include WOSBs in competitive acquisitions; implementing procedures for acquisition planners to structure acquisitions (including multiple award contracts) and provide guidance to facilitate competition among small businesses, HUBZone small businesses, SDBs, and WOSBs; implementing mentor-protégé programs that include WOSBs; and offering outreach, training and technical assistance programs to assist WOSBs in developing their products, skills, business planning practices, and marketing techniques. The order further directs agencies, when feasible and consistent with the effective and efficient performance of their missions, to establish 5-percent WOSB goals for both prime and subcontract awards each fiscal year. SBA informs us that as a result of this executive order, it is moving from a negotiated agency goal process to an assigned process whereby SBA will set goals with possible input from the agencies. SBA may start setting all agencies’ goals at 5 percent, although officials believe the 5-percent goal is unattainable for some agencies, which means that other agencies will have goals set at a higher point for the federal government to meet the 5- percent governmentwide goal. The executive order further establishes certain responsibilities for SBA and instructs SBA to establish an Assistant Administrator for Women’s Procurement (within SBA’s Office of Government Contracting). This official will head the Office of Federal Contract Assistance for Women Business Owners and coordinate agencies’ efforts to achieve the WOSB goals. Specifically, this office will be responsible for working with each agency to develop and implement policies to achieve WOSB contracting goals and advising agencies on how to increase WOSB contracting; evaluating whether agencies are meeting their WOSB contracting goals on a semiannual basis and preparing a report to the President (through the SBA Administrator, the Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise, and OFPP) on findings regarding contract awards to WOSBs; making recommendations and working with agencies to increase WOSB contracting and taking corrective actions with those agencies not meeting the 5-percent goal; providing a program of training and development seminars and conferences to instruct WOSBs on participation in SBA’s 8(a), SDB, and HUBZone programs, and other small business contracting programs for which WOSBs might be eligible; and developing and implementing a single uniform federal governmentwide Web site that is linked to other acquisition, small business, and women- owned business sites and provides current procurement information to WOSBs and other small businesses. A recent change to the government’s procurement program for WOSBs emerged from the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 2000, which amended the Small Business Act to give federal agencies authority to restrict competition for certain contracts to certified WOSBs that are economically disadvantaged. The authority, which is permissive, not mandatory, is limited to contracts not exceeding $3 million ($5 million for manufacturing) in those industries SBA identifies as underrepresented by WOSBs in federal procurement. The act requires SBA to conduct a study to pinpoint such industries. Federal contracting officers must also have a reasonable expectation that two or more WOSBs will submit offers and that the contract can be awarded at a fair and reasonable price before the officers may exercise their new authority.