By Janie Lorber | Roll Call
Published May 12, 2011
Small-business groups accused Republicans of shutting them out of a hearing held Thursday by the Congressional committee established to look out for their interests.
The House Small Business Committee and the Oversight and Government Reform Committee co-hosted the hearing to address a proposed executive order that would require potential federal contractors to disclose direct and indirect political spending.
Of the seven witnesses, only one — from the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce — represented the small-business community during the hearing, which was titled “Politicizing Procurement: Will President Obama’s Proposal Curb Free Speech and Hurt Small Business?”
“It sounds like small businesses were invited to the party, but reading the witness list it is clear that we are not allowed in,” Frank Knapp, the head of the 5,000-member South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, said during a conference call with reporters Thursday morning. “Small businesses are used to having our name used as a faux for the big businesses’ agenda.”
Knapp and other small-business leaders have criticized the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is fiercely lobbying against the proposed executive order, for claiming the banner of small businesses while working in favor of its major dues-paying members that dominate the contracting market.
Republicans called the hearing after news that the Obama administration was preparing to issue an executive order that would require all companies seeking federal contracts to reveal political contributions of more than $5,000. That would include contributions to outside groups that aren’t required to disclose their donors, like the chamber.
Republicans and other opponents of the executive order, which is still in draft form, argue that it would politicize the process for awarding federal contracts and would deter companies from bidding.
“The risk that politics could play a role in the outcome of procurement is too high,” Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said. “We will always have some contracts awarded on a no-bid basis that could be decided on the whim of a political appointee based on the public record.”
Supporters of the order argue that more transparency will increase competition and allow small businesses greater access to coveted contracts.
Lawrie Hollingsworth, president of Asset Recovery Technologies Inc. of Annapolis, testified on behalf of the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce, which has made increasing women’s access to federal contracts its primary legislative goal. Hollingsworth and Daniel Gordon, who oversees federal procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, were the only witnesses to speak Thursday in favor of increased transparency. Gordon refused to specifically speak about the draft executive order because White House deliberations are ongoing.
As the majority party in the House, Republicans control the witness list for hearings. Oversight and Government Reform ranking member Elijah Cummings (Md.) and other House Democrats said they were denied additional witnesses, but Small Business Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) said Republicans did invite small-business leaders to the hearing.
“We asked a lot of small businesses to come in and testify today, and they didn’t because they are afraid of retribution from this administration,” he said at the hearing.
But small-business leaders told Roll Call in an interview after the conference call that they were ready to testify.
Original article: http://www.rollcall.com/news/hearing_underrepresented_small_business_leaders_say_-205574-1.html