House Passes Bipartisan Olszewski-Wied Bill to Streamline Small Businesses Contracting

(Washington, DC) – The U.S. House of Representatives today passed bipartisan legislation introduced by Congressmen Johnny Olszewski (D-MD) and Tony Wied (R-WI) to help small businesses — including those owned by women, veterans, and entrepreneurs in economically disadvantaged communities — better compete for federal contracts. The Oversight and Transparency for Small Business Certifications Act of 2026 passed the House by voice vote and now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

Under existing law, small businesses must be certified by the Small Business Administration (SBA) in order to apply for government contracts using a fragmented and inconsistent system that has created significant backlogs and delays. For example, in 2023, service-disabled, veteran-owned businesses seeking SBA certification were supported by 20 dedicated staff and 54 contractors, resulting in application processing times of approximately three weeks. By contrast, applicants in the program for women-owned small businesses were served by just eight SBA staff and two contractors, leading to a backlog of roughly 7,000 applications and average wait times approaching one year.

Congressman Olszewski’s legislation requires the SBA to detail its certification processes, infrastructure, and processing timelines in its budget justification documents provided to Congress. The bill would also require additional reporting on program participation, application backlogs, and wait times.

“We can and should always work harder to ensure federal programs work efficiently for the American people and our economy,” said Congressman Olszewski (MD-02). “This legislation will strengthen our efforts to level the playing field for small businesses who want to compete in the federal marketplace while enabling the government to recruit and retain high-quality business partners.”

“Small businesses are the backbone of our nation’s economy, and every entrepreneur deserves to have the opportunity to compete and succeed,” said Congressman Wied (WI-08). “I am proud to see the House pass this commonsense legislation to improve transparency in the SBA’s contracting process and create a fairer, more efficient system that roots out fraud and provides the type of accountability hardworking small business owners deserve.“ 

The reporting requirements established by the legislation would apply to three SBA certification programs: the Women-Owned Small Business Program, the Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) Program, and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program.