FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 30, 2002

SCHUMER FIGHTS FOR FEDERAL PROGRAM THAT HELPED LOCAL BUSINESSES SECURE $94 MILLION IN GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS

Senator Says Budget Shortfall Threatens Federal Program That Helped Hudson Valley Small Businesses Win $94 Million in Government Contracts Last Year, Says Additional Funds Necessary to Help Small Businesses in Rockland, Westchester, Orange Counties

Schumer Tours DHS Systems, a Manufacturer of Military Shelters and a Beneficiary of the Procurement Technical Assistance Program

With a budget shortfall threatening a federal program that brought $94 million in government contracts to small businesses in Rockland, Orange and Westchester Counties last year, US Senator Charles E. Schumer today announced plans to push for additional funding in this year's Defense Appropriations Bill for the program. The Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) is a relatively inexpensive federal program that helps small businesses generate millions of dollars in government contracts each year.

For the past 15 years, the PTAP has provided intensive, one-on-one assistance to help businesses in the Hudson Valley successfully market themselves to federal and state agencies awarding government contracts. New York has six regional PTAP centers, with the Rockland County Economic Development Corporation operating one of these facilities to serve Rockland, Westchester and Orange counties. In 2001, through the assistance of the Rockland PTAP center, more than 350 small businesses in these three counties received $94 million in federal, state, and local government contracts that generated 2,217 jobs.

"There's no question that the proper guidance can make a real difference for small businesses vying for lucrative government contracts – contracts that mean real dollars and real jobs for our community," Schumer said. "We need to utilize every tool at hand to drive those contracts home, and PTAP has proven itself again and again as an effective tool to help small businesses get the job done."

Schumer said the FY02 Defense Reauthorization Act raised the caps on federal awards to statewide PTAP centers from $300,000 to $600,000 annually. While the change was intended to support program growth, its implementation will create a funding shortfall unless additional appropriations are made available for the upcoming year. The cap for federal awards to regional PTAP centers (which operate in lieu of statewide centers in large and diverse states like New York) remains at $150,000 annually. Regional centers are concerned that the higher cap for statewide PTAP centers will siphon off most of the available program budget and leave them short. In addition to budget cuts, Schumer said the shortfall could result in the closure of 15-20 of the 89 PTAP centers currently operating nationwide.
"This is a program that does a lot of good for a lot of small businesses with very little outlay of federal money," Schumer said. "Just $140,000 a year in federal money helps businesses served by the Rockland PTAP center secure millions and millions in government contracts. This money helps businesses help themselves grow by opening up new markets like government agencies that can be difficult to break into. Yet, we're starving this program of the little cash it needs to feed vital guidance to our local small businesses."

Schumer said he is pushing for an additional appropriation of $6 million in the Defense Appropriations Bill – boosting PTAP funding to $25 million nationally – to prevent funding cuts to local centers. Schumer said this additional funding would allow for the long deferred growth authorized for the PTAP without putting centers in jeopardy. The federal funds for PTAP centers are matched by local money, and the Rockland PTAP center receives funds from Rockland, Orange and Westchester counties.

Schumer cited DHS Systems, LLC in Orangeburg as one example of a local business that has flourished as a result of aid from the Rockland PTAP center. DHS Systems is a manufacturer of military shelters that can be set up quickly and connected to create facilities such as temporary command centers or hospitals. Since they began working with PTAP more than eight years ago, DHS Systems has grown from three to 110 people, and while the company had less than $1 million in sales in 1992, sales this year are over $30 million. As a result of PTAP assistance, the company contracts with government agencies such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the National Security Agency (NSA), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the military. Currently, DHS Systems has its equipment in place in Afghanistan with the 18th Airborne Corps and the 10th Mountain Division.

PTAP is currently the only government-sponsored program providing intensive, individually tailored guidance to businesses navigating the federal procurement system. Most PTAP centers offer free services to their clients including counseling assistance; workshops, seminars and classes; and a computerized service to match companies' capabilities with government needs.

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