"Small" will not mean "large" for SBA any more

The Small Business Administration is taking steps to ensure that it counts "small business" contracts more accurately.

Until now, SBA regulations counted a contract as "small business" if it was awarded to a small business, and the contract kept that status for the life of the contract, even if the contractor were later acquired by a large business.  This means that the government has been counting contracts actually held by large businesses as part of the total number of small business contracts it reports.

The new regulations will require the acquiring company to re-certify its status at the time of the acquisition.  The change is the result of heavy lobbying by small business interests; the Wall Street Journal quotes one lobbying group as saying that the new rule will "help open up the market to small businesses."