Small business contracting: Read all about it

The House Homeland Security Committee has published its first online newsletter highlighting opportunities at the Homeland Security Department as a way to help small business contractors.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the committee, said the goal is to assist small businesses in navigating opportunities at DHS. The four-page March 2008 edition lists upcoming procurement-related events at DHS, describes two small business programs at DHS and catalogs more than a dozen upcoming opportunities for contractors.

"I began this newsletter to alleviate the gap that exists between the need for information about opportunities available at the Department and the ability to locate and disseminate that information in a timely and user-friendly manner," Thompson said in a news release.

"This newsletter is intended to bridge the gaps that keep information unavailable, sidelines worthwhile businesses, discourages full participation and permits vulnerabilities to continue," Thompson said.

The newsletter also offers Web links to DHS' procurement-related sites, and encourages contractors to contact the committee if they feel they have been treated unfairly by the department.