PITTSBURGH, PA — U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today joined small business leaders from the Pittsburgh region to provide an overview of the federal procurement process and resources available to small businesses.
“Supporting small businesses is vital to our economic recovery,” said Senator Casey. “It was a pleasure to meet with small business leaders in Pittsburgh today to discuss federal opportunities available to help them prosper and create jobs. I look forward to continuing to work with small businesses across the Commonwealth to keep our economy on the road to recovery.”
David Ehrenwerth, Regional Administrator for the General Services Administration, and Barbara Weaver of the Small Business Administration’s Office of Government Contracting joined Senator Casey to provide an overview of the federal procurement process to small businesses from Western Pennsylvania and Ohio representing a range of industries, including military contractors, industrial manufacturers, energy companies and engineering firms.
In remarks to the group, Senator Casey highlighted the importance of Pennsylvania’s small businesses that employ nearly 2 million people. Each year, federal agencies provide more than $500 billion in contracting, $400 billion of which is considered small business eligible. Senator Casey expressed his desire to give Pennsylvania companies the tools and resources needed to navigate the procurement process and gain an edge in innovation and competition.
Earlier this month, Senator Casey secured passage of an amendment to the Small Business Innovation Research reauthorization bill he introduced to protect small businesses. It will prevent contractors from adding subcontractors to bids without the intention of following through to deliver work to listed subcontractors.
As the Chairman of the JEC, Senator Casey is meeting with business leaders across Pennsylvania to discuss job creation strategies.
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