GSA drops 'disadvantaged' from small business office name
Gettyimages.com/J. David Ake / Contributor
By
Nick Wakeman
The rebranding reflects the Trump administration's broader rollback of diversity and equity programs, though statutory protections remain in place.
The General Services Administration is changing the name of its Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization to the Office of Small Business.
A blog post to announce the change by Greg Justice, associate administrator for the renamed office, says that GSA wants to take a “more holistic, consultative approach to our support for America’s small businesses.”
By dropping the emphasis on disadvantaged businesses, the change also reflects the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back policies focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Justics also writes that the statutory authorities under the Small Business Act remain unchanged. Only an act of Congress can change those authorities, which include set-aside goals for 8(a) small businesses.
Justice called the new name a “new secondary title,” which also tracks back to the Small Business Act. This law created the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization.
The change is similar to how the Trump administration now calls the Defense Department the Department of War. The legal entity is still the Defense Department because changing the name would require Congress to approve the change.
Justice also ties the name change to the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul, which also has de-emphasized the use of 8(a) firms and other categories of economically disadvantaged businesses.
“Small businesses are not only the backbone of our economy, they are also an important source of innovation, creativity, and agility for GSA and our partner agencies,” Justice wrote.
Justice said the Office of Small Business will ensure compliance with small business requirements ans act as a consultant to acquisition professionals and industry to bring capable small businesses into the market.
“Our role is to make sure those businesses have a clear path to compete, grow, and help shape the future of federal procurement, ensuring agencies get the best products and services at the best value,” he wrote.
The blog leaves several questions unanswered, including whether all federal agencies will change their OSDBU to Office of Small Business. It is also an open question of whether more resources including personnel will flow to these offices now that “disadvantaged” has been de-emphasized.
GSA officials did not respond to our request for comment as we published this story.