New El Paso-based representative will help small businesses in federal contracts
11/21/2008
Washington, D.C.
News
Column: New El Paso-based SBA representative will help area small businesses in federal contracts
Last month, I was proud to announce that the Small Business Administration (SBA) has agreed to hire an El Paso-based Procurement Center Representative (PCR). The PCR is a federal position in the SBA responsible for developing and implementing plans to increase the share of federal contracts awarded to small businesses. This new resource will help many El Paso small businesses compete for the billions of dollars in federal contracts that will be invested in Fort Bliss over the next few years.
I am proud to have worked with the small business community for many years to bring this important position to El Paso. Currently, small business owners must rely on the PCR based in Albuquerque for help. This past July, I met with Ms. Jovita Carranza, Acting Administrator of the SBA at the time, and once again requested that the SBA place a PCR in El Paso. I expressed my concerns about the lack of federal resources available in El Paso to help small businesses navigate through the procurement process, even though over $5 billion in federal contracts will be invested in Fort Bliss over the next few years. As a result of this meeting, the SBA sent a feasibility team to El Paso in September. The group met with the Small Business Consortium and also toured Fort Bliss. The SBA was convinced that El Paso needed its own PCR and is now in the process of hiring for this position.
While many El Pasoans may not fully understand the benefits of this position for our community, this is a significant achievement for El Paso that will help small businesses to expand and create many new jobs here at home. With the national economy in crisis, this is the perfect time to have a PCR to help bring more job opportunities to El Paso.
Although the local economy is not immune from the problems facing the U.S. economy, our community is in a strong position to weather the storm. The continued expansion of Fort Bliss and the thousands of new families who will soon call El Paso home will help keep our local economy growing and moving forward. The federal government’s unprecedented investments in Fort Bliss provide opportunities for small businesses to grow and succeed.
Small businesses are the engine of American economic growth, and minority-owned business is one of the fastest-growing segments of the business community. Eighty-five percent of businesses in El Paso are small businesses and the majority of these are minority- and veteran-owned. The process to secure a federal contract can be an intimidating undertaking for many small business owners, but with guidance from an expert such as the PCR, businesses will have the tools they need to help them get through the "red tape."
I am grateful for the tremendous assistance I received from several community partners to bring this position to El Paso. The El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, REDCo, the Small Business Consortium, and others were instrumental advocates for locating a PCR in El Paso. I also appreciate the efforts of the SBA, particularly Jovita Carranza for listening to our concerns and working with us to bring this much-needed position to our community.
Small businesses are important to our local economy, and I am proud to have helped bring this new resource that will ensure small businesses get their fair share of the federal contracts in El Paso. Having a locally-based PCR should significantly enhance the level of services and assistance available to small business owners.
Vincent M. Perez
202-225-4831
vincent.perez@mail.house.gov
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