The Squeeze in Government Contracting

by Steve Lutes

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Professional Services Council (PSC) held a forum today examining the "squeeze" in government contracting facing companies that do business with the federal government. The phenomenon known in the procurement world as the "mid-tier squeeze" occurs when a company grows beyond its small business standard and finds itself having to compete with industry giants for government contracts. 

This is an important issue not only for companies experiencing the “squeeze,” but also for the federal government when developing policies to ensure a diverse and competitive acquisition process. Government contractors serving on the Chamber’s Mid-Market Council, which is comprised of companies representing a wide variety of industries, identified the “squeeze” as a challenge unique to this sector. With today’s forum, we wanted to bring together stakeholders from the executive branch, Capitol Hill, and the business community to have a constructive dialogue on this challenge. 

Robert Graziano discusses the issue and today's forum.

Comments

[Charles Tyler]

The fine line between a small business and a large business needs to be reviewed perodically for each property, service or construction trade sold to the goverment. With the the goverments infatuation with consolidation through the use of task orders since the 1994 Streamlining Act many firms have been forced out of the goverment market for various reasons.
As a small business we have had to protest in the appeal's court to perserve our seat at the table.