Recently, the SBA issued a new proposed rule which would dramatically increase the size of businesses eligible to participate in federal “small business” programs. In some cases, companies with a billion dollars in revenue and thousands of employees would be counted as a small business.
While the proposed rule cites a goal of simplification, it upends decades of precedent and is a major revamp. It would effectively merge nearly 1,000 categories under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), to just 338 and would create a significant competitive disadvantage for many small businesses.
This shift would open the door to larger businesses not only qualifying for small-business set-asides but being counted toward the federal contracting goal, rendering that measure meaningless. You can learn more here about the proposal.
Please take a few moments today to submit comments on how this rule will impact your small business.