Capital Roundup

The Small Business Administration's reviews of subcontracts offered to small firms do not effectively ensure that small businesses get the biggest possible share of $77 billion in subcontracting awards under the Small Business Subcontracting Program, Sen. Kit Bond said Feb. 20.

Bond, R-Mo., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said in a letter to SBA Administrator Hector Barreto that subcontract monitoring has been identified as a key problem by women business owners.

The SBA monitors subcontracts issued by civilian agencies. Under the Small Business Subcontracting Program, contractors are not required to subcontract with small businesses, but when receiving a contract for more than $100,000, contractors must agree that various types of small businesses will have the "maximum practical opportunity" to participate in the job.

But the SBA, hindered by travel and staff limitations, does not adequately review subcontract awards, according to a recent report by the General Accounting Office. SBA performed onsite reviews of only 15 percent of the agency's 1,780 contractors in fiscal 2000, the GAO found.Nancy Dorn was confirmed as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget Feb. 15 by the Senate. Dorn will oversee the preparation, management and administration of the federal budget and governmentwide management initiatives across the executive branch.

Previously, Dorn was assistant to the vice president for legislative affairs. Before joining the Bush administration, she served as senior policy adviser to the speaker of the House. From April 1996 to July 2000, Dorn was a partner at Hooper Owen & Winburn, a government relations firm providing strategic advice on legislative and executive branch matters to corporate clients in Washington.

Dorn replaces former OMB deputy director Sean O'Keefe, who in December 2001 became administrator of NASA.