January 14, 2026
Ms. Scholten introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Armed Services
To require the Secretary of Defense to report on certain contracts and awards to small business concerns, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Study on certain contracts and awards to small business concerns
(a) Study required
The Secretary of Defense, acting through the Office of Small Business Programs, shall carry out a study to review contracts awarded with a value at or below the simplified acquisition threshold (as defined in section 3015 of title 10, United States Code) to determine if the Department of Defense is ensuring full consideration and application of requirements relating to small business concerns (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)).
(b) Report
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a report on the results of the study required by this section. Such report shall include—
(1)
the total dollar amount of contracts awarded with a value at or below the simplified acquisition threshold during the five-year period preceding the date of the report, including the percentage of such contracts and the aggregate dollar amount of such contracts awarded to small business concerns;
(2)
an overview of the types of contracts with a value at or below the simplified acquisition threshold, and description of the products or services, that were not awarded to small business concerns;
(3)
an overview of the reasons why a contract with a value at or below the simplified acquisition threshold may not be set aside for small business concerns;
(4)
any trends, themes, or patterns of contracts with a value at or below the simplified acquisition threshold that were awarded to entities that are not small business concerns when such a contract should have been subject to a requirement to be set aside for small business concerns; and
(5)
recommendations for changes to statute, regulation, policy, or guidance that would ensure full consideration and application of requirement to set aside contracts for small business concerns.