Thank you, Theresa, for that kind introduction.  I want to personally welcome all of you to the 8th Annual Small Business Conference, Exposition and Matchmaking Forum.

As the largest civilian purchaser of goods and services, the Department of Energy takes great pride in efforts such as this to provide a fair opportunity for small businesses to compete for contracts.

You are all here today because you know small business has a big role to play in helping to solve our nation’s energy challenges and in helping to improve the state of our environment.  I’m here to congratulate you on what you, and we together, have accomplished, but also to tell you in person how committed I am to protecting and promoting that small business role going forward at DOE.

Small business is indeed the backbone of the American economy.  Small businesses like yours are involved in all facets of this economy and the energy sector is no exception.  The contributions you make are invaluable, every bit as critical to our nation’s economic and physical security as the contributions of companies three, four, or ten times as large.

Early on, in my former life in the private sector, I did a lot of work with small enterprises, helping them get off the ground was a very rewarding experience.  The truth is that there is something unique that small businesses bring to the table in solving complex problems.  You bring an innovative and fresh perspective to difficult policy issues.  Simply put, small business owners like you have a passion and an intensity that drives you to find a solution to a difficult problem, even if it’s one piece of a larger pie.

I’m sure you are aware of the President’s interest in and commitment to small business.  He often speaks about the need to create an environment in which small businesses can thrive and prosper, which includes enabling small businesses to participate fully in federal contracts.  We’re pleased to have Administrator Denett from the Office of Management and Budget’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy here this morning, and he can speak more about some of the President’s initiatives on this front.

I can tell you that, at the Department of Energy, we certainly share the President’s commitment to small business.  As most of you know, the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization serves as the agency’s focal point for small enterprises interested in doing business with DOE.  One has only to spend a few moments speaking with the leadership and staff of this office to feel the depth of their commitment to promoting and advocating for small business.

Because of their efforts and the efforts of many others throughout the Department and in this room, we are achieving results. Including a substantial increase, department-wide, in both prime contracts and subcontracts awarded to small businesses over the past five years.

One of the largest of these contracts to date will be announced later this week, when we expect to award a significant contract to a small business to provide support services for our Office of Legacy Management.  I say significant because the previous contract for this work was more than $200 million over 5 years.  Teaming the Department's first High Performing Organization, Legacy Management, with a small business performance-based contract will help ensure that we meet our legacy responsibilities in an efficient and effective manner.

Several other DOE program offices have made particular gains in the area of small business contracts.  The Environmental Management Program, for example, has been at the forefront of the department’s efforts to identify work traditionally performed under large contracts that can be set aside for small business.  Over the last three fiscal years, the program has awarded small business contracts with values ranging from $20 million to $191 million for activities ranging from construction and infrastructure support to site cleanup and closure.

Similarly, the National Nuclear Security Administration increased its awards to small business by 47 percent between fiscal years 2002 and 2006.  They have done this in large part by establishing policies and operations that facilitate the awarding of small business contracts.

Gains have been made at DOE for specific types of small businesses as well.  Earlier this month, the Department of Veterans Affairs recognized us for significantly and effectively increasing federal contracting and subcontracting opportunities for service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses.  We are very proud of this accomplishment and pleased to have the Veterans Corporation, a federally chartered organization created to assist veteran small businesses, as co-sponsors of this conference.

I want to do whatever I can to encourage more of these types of efforts.  Just this morning, I issued a department-wide policy statement directing all DOE program offices to identify prime contracting opportunities for small business and when these opportunities do not exist, to enhance mentor, protégé and subcontracting opportunities.  I am committed to continually assessing our progress toward developing and expanding small business opportunities.

Back to today’s program, I want to thank you for taking the time away from your businesses to be here today.  I can assure you that Theresa and her team have put together an outstanding agenda and I’d like to highlight just a few of the opportunities I hope you’ll take advantage of over the next few days.

First, I want to congratulate all of the 2006 Secretarial Small Business Award recipients for their accomplishments and to encourage all of you to attend today’s luncheon and hear their inspiring stories.  I am very glad that Deputy Secretary Sell will be able to be a part of this important celebration.

The Expo kicks off after the lunch and is also a key component of this conference, presenting an opportunity to get to know many of the procurement teams at our facilities and hear more about our prime contractors.  I encourage all of you to take some time to visit the more than 130 Expo booths.

Please also take a few minutes to visit DOE’s own Small Business Booth at the front of the Expo.  Here you will find information about a new outreach tool we are implementing, the Business Opportunity Session.  DOE’s small business office will begin holding these outreach sessions monthly here in Washington, D.C. to stimulate small business participation in DOE contracting opportunities.  More information is available at our booth.

Tomorrow’s Matchmaking Forum is yet another critical component of this conference, providing a unique opportunity to schedule one-on-one meetings with procurement representatives from DOE’s prime contractors and the potential to participate in over $1 billion of possible subcontracting opportunities for this fiscal year.  Our keynote speaker for the luncheon will be SBA Administrator Steven Preston, a true leader in expanding small business opportunities throughout the federal government.

So you can see that your time here will be well spent.  My hope is that each one of you walks away with a clear sense of the role you and your business can play, together with DOE, in tackling complex energy issues.  It’s quite an exciting opportunity, and I’m glad you’re here to take advantage of all the valuable tools and assistance this conference has to offer.

Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to speak to you today.  I am firmly committed to the success of our small business programs.  I thank you for your interest in working together with the Department of Energy to strengthen our nation’s energy security.

Location:
Washington, DC

Media contact(s):
Julie Ruggiero, (202) 586-4940