SMALL BUSINESS  

SBA to Help Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses
Gain Greater Access to Federal Contracting Opportunities

An office created by the U.S. Small Business Administration will help service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses navigate the federal contracting marketplace and gain better access to federal contracting opportunities.

“We are eager to accept the challenge that President Bush has issued to us to help ensure that service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses receive their fair share of contracting opportunities,” said SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto. “Their contributions to our country and their courage are admirable and the SBA is ready to help these small businesses gain access to contracting opportunities in the federal marketplace and grow their businesses.”

The Office of Federal Contract Assistance for Veteran Business Owners, established in accordance with a Presidential Executive Order, will provide service-disabled veteran business owners with a single point of contact to address their questions and concerns and receive clarification on procurement opportunities designated for them.

It will also:

• offer guidance on sole-source and set-aside procurement opportunities, and protest and appeal procedures;
• help federal agencies meet their 3 percent prime and subcontracting goals; and
• provide guidance to federal contracting officers on the criteria used to verify service-disabled veteran status, and determine business ownership and control requirements.

The new office will be headed by Teresa Lewis, a 20-year veteran of the Air Force with more than 14 years of government contracting experience.

The Executive Order:

• directs heads of agencies to develop a strategic plan to provide more contracting and subcontracting opportunities to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses;
• establishes a goal of not less than 3 percent for participation by service-disabled veteran-owned businesses in federal contracting and gives agency contracting officers the authority to reserve certain procurements for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses; and
• requires the SBA administrator to designate an appropriate entity within SBA to work with the Veteran Affairs’ Center for Veterans Enterprise to provide information and assistance in federal contracting to service-disabled veteran-owned businesses.

For more information about SBA’s Office of Federal Contract Assistance for Veteran Business Owners, visit www.sba.gov/gc/indexprograms-vets.html.

New Online Classes for Small Business Owners to
Be Provided by SBA and Thomson Corporation

New online business classes will be available for small businesses through a national program cosponsored by U.S. Small Business Administration and the Thomson Corp. (Ed2Go). Ed2Go is a national provider of online instructor-taught training classes, offering courses through more than 1,000 community colleges and other partners around the country.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to enroll in three of Ed2Go’s most popular online educational courses at no cost. The courses being offered are:

• Creating a Successful Business Plan
  Work through all of the major components of a business plan and turn your business ideas into a solid plan for financing and long-term success. Committing your idea to paper in the form of a business plan increases your chances of obtaining financing and keeps your business strategically focused.

• Customer Service Fundamental
  Develop new skills in identifying and satisfying customer needs, and become an indispensable asset to any organization. This online course will help you discover and master the essentials of customer service. You’ll learn the best ways to measure customer service, apply the principles of consumer behavior to your business, and differentiate between industrial and consumer marketing.

• Creating Web Pages
  Create and post your very own Web site on the Internet in this extensive, hands- on workshop. Learn about the capabilities of the World Wide Web and the fundamentals of Web design. You'll also learn critical and timely information on securing the best possible location in search engine listings, and powerful no-cost or low-cost Web marketing strategies.

Each online course will be six weeks in length, and will be facilitated by an instructor. The courses will begin June 15, with the next course start dates beginning on July 20, Aug. 17 and Sept. 21.

Online registration for each course will be available starting May 25, 2005, to the first 2,400 individuals to register. Registration for each class will be taken at the SBA’s Small Business Training Network site at www.sba.gov/training. Go to the free online courses section and click on the “Instructor-Facilitated Courses” button to complete your registration.

ECONOMY

Personal Income Rises, But Prices Climb as Well

The incomes of American workers rose again in April after sharp increases in recent months, though higher prices for food and energy sapped spending power somewhat.

Personal income increased 0.7% in April from the month before and was 7% higher than a year earlier, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis said in a report released May 27.

It continued a recent run of strong income increases, which have been driven by a combination of improving job growth, profits from independent businesses and, many economists believe, strong bonus and stock-option income. The income gains have been registered even though the wages of many hourly workers remain constrained by companies eager to contain costs.

Rising incomes underpin consumer-spending growth. Spending in April rose 0.6% and was 7.2% higher than a year earlier, not adjusted for inflation. Taken together, the trends in income and spending were seen by many economists as signals that the economic expansion remains firmly on track, even though higher energy prices have damped some spending power.

“Consumers are not euphoric over the economy but confidence is slowly improving, and more importantly consumer spending remains on track,” said Lynn Reaser, economist with Bank of America.

But incomes aren’t rising enough to lift the U.S.’s personal-savings rate, which has dwindled in the past few years as household spending roared ahead. Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 0.4% in April, the second-lowest monthly rate of saving on record.

High energy prices were one reason for some caution among households in April. The Commerce Department’s price index for personal-consumption expenditures – a measure of consumer-price inflation – rose 0.4% in April and was 2.7% higher than a year earlier. Excluding food and energy, the index inched up 0.1% in April compared with March and was 1.6% higher than a year earlier. This inflation measure is favored by officials at the Federal Reserve, and provided some comfort that underlying inflation pressures in the economy remain in check.

LABOR

Troubles in the House of Labor

Union leaders wonder whether they will be able to avert a split in the AFL-CIO at the federation’s national convention in Chicago in July. So far, no suitable candidate to succeed AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has emerged.

A peacemaker would be someone who has credibility with the reform-minded insurgent unions, but who is also acceptable enough to Sweeney to allow him to save face and not seek re-election.

Sweeney recently sought discussions with the insurgents. Sweeney spokeswoman Lane Windham said that he had met with the heads of all the insurgent unions except UNITE HERE, whose president, John Wilhelm, is the most frequently mentioned challenger to Sweeney. But a high-ranking labor official saw Sweeney’s move as a sign of weakness, likening it to when “we’re out on strike for a while and it’s not going well. We call up the mediator to call up the other side, so we can tell people we’re going back to negotiations.”

CAPITOL HILL

Spending Bills Moving in House, But Not in Senate

Although the Senate has not yet begun its appropriations process, the House its push to finish the fiscal 2006 spending bills by the July 4 recess. By the end of May, the House was on track to have passed four of its appropriations bills.

On May 24, the House voted 416-13 to approve the Energy and Water Development appropriations measure. The $29.7 billion package would provide the same level of spending that President Bush requested in his fiscal 2006 budget.

On May 26, the House was considering the Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs funding bill, which contains a new mix of programs as a result of the House Appropriations Committee’s reorganization.

Energy Bill Clears Senate Committee

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 21-1 on May 26 to approve comprehensive energy legislation. Chairman Pete Domenici (R-NM), said the Senate would debate the bill “shortly” after the Memorial Day recess.

Among the controversial issues expected to be addressed on the floor is whether to grant exclusive federal authority over where liquefied-natural-gas import facilities are located. The committee bill gives the federal government this authority, but a close floor vote is likely over whether states should have an equal say because of concerns that these facilities would be prime terrorist targets.

In addition, the committee failed to resolve whether states should be able to opt out of current federal moratoria on off-shore oil and gas production. Democrats are expected to bring up floor amendments to address their concerns over climate change and the lack of a renewable electricity mandate in the committee bill.

Senate Asbestos Bill Markup Wraps Up

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 13-5 on May 26 to adopt a massive asbestos bill, after two years of intense negotiations and seven markup sessions during the last few weeks. The legislation would halt all asbestos lawsuits and instead create a federally administered trust fund to compensate victims of asbestos-related illnesses. The committee adopted a compromise – negotiated by Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA), ranking member Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) – addressing how the proposed trust fund would operate in its “start-up” phase.

Supporters beat back a handful of Democratic amendments, and some Democrats are expected to oppose the measure on the floor.

Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE) complained that the bill does not ensure that companies will pay the amounts into the trust fund that the legislation envisions. He also said that the new system likely will face delays from lawsuits challenging its constitutionality, and that such delays would shortchange victims. Specter said he expects to address several committee members’ concerns with floor amendments.

Seventh Extension Approved for Highway Bill

Congress this week approved the seventh extension of the long-expired federal surface transportation bill.

The House on May 25 by voice vote passed a one-month extension, through June 30, of the 1998 law, which expired in September 2003. The Senate followed suit on May 26.

The House has approved a $284 billion highway bill, while the Senate has passed a $295 billion bill. President Bush has threatened to veto any legislation over $284 billion.

A conference committee led by House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK) will try to work out a compromise. Key lawmakers are optimistic that they will get the bill done in June.

POLLS

Americans Growing Less Optimistic About Personal Finances

Spiraling gas prices and anxiety about retirement security are taking a toll: In the American Research Group poll, respondents were less optimistic about their personal finances, which in recent years has been a bright spot in most polls on the economy. Forty-four percent had a positive view of their personal financial situation, while 54 percent had a negative view. Sixty-one percent said their household finances are getting worse, up from 50 percent last month, and 50 percent predicted that their household finances would be in worse shape a year from now.

ABC News/Washington Post numbers showed a similar trend: Half of all respondents said the nation’s economy is deteriorating, a 17-point increase from January, and 33 percent gave the nation’s economy a positive rating. Although 56 percent expressed a positive opinion of their personal finances, 66 percent said it’s a bad time to be making purchases.

Six in 10 adults told NBC/Wall Street Journal pollsters that in the coming year, they would “hold back” and save for harder times ahead. Only 30 percent thought that the next year would bring them financial opportunity.