Congress Wants to Make It Easier for You to Snag Federal Contracts and Get Help With Exports

Lawmakers just advanced legislation aiming to simplify the federal procurement process for small businesses and help them with foreign trade.

The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Wednesday moved forward four bills that largely focus on federal contracting, but also look to revamp the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), a key trade program from the Small Business Administration.

The STEP program encourages state governments to help entrepreneurs with expanding their global export prowess. The STEP Modernization Act seeks to simplify the application process, in part by providing more feedback, and would extend $30 million each year for the program from 2025 through 2029.

Businesses that apply to the STEP program submit applications to their states requesting grant awards, which can be used for tapping into reverse trade missions or tradeshows, translation fees, which can come up with international agreements, and export training workshops.

If companies are not successful in snagging a grant, the bill suggests that states provide feedback so they can improve in their next attempt. The same applies if a business does not receive the full award it applied for. “When I created STEP in 2010, I sought to help small businesses offset the cost of training, market research, website upgrades, and trade missions to begin or expand sales internationally,” Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) said in a statement. “By modernizing STEP, it will now be simpler for small businesses to access these resources.”

The three bills focusing on federal procurement include the Subcontracting Simplification Act, which requires prime contractors to spell out subcontracting opportunities so interested entrepreneurs can access them; the Small Business Contracting Transparency Act, which directs the SBA to create a report each year that tracks certifications, along with federal procurement awards, for underrepresented businesses; and the Plain Language in Contracting Act, which bars jargon that often bogs down federal contracts.

Simplifying the federal contracting process has become an emerging priority for Congress as the small-business contracting base continues to dwindle. 

All four bills that advanced Wednesday are bipartisan, but they still face a long way to go to become law. One avenue could be trying to tack the bills onto the country’s annual defense bill–the National Defense Authorization Act–which is currently being worked on by lawmakers.