HomeMy WebLinkAbout2-10-10 HUBzone letter
UNION COUNTY
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
Steve McClure, Commissioner
R. Nellie Bogue Hibbert, Commissioner
Mark D. Davidson, Commissioner
1106 K Avenue La Grande, OR 97850 PHONE (541)963-1001 FAX (541)963-1079 TTY 1-800-735-1232
February 8, 2010
The Honorable Ron Wyden The Honorable Jeff Merkley
1220 SW 3rd Ave., Suite 585 One World Trade Center
Portland, OR 97204 121 SW Salmon St., Suite 1250
Portland, OR 97204
The Honorable Greg Walden
1051 NW Bond St., Suite 400 The Honorable David Wu
Bend, OR 97701 620 SW Main, Suite 606
Portland, OR 97205
The Honorable Earl Blumenauer
729 NE Oregon, Suite 115 The Honorable Peter DeFazio
Portland, OR 97232 405 East 8th Ave. #2030
Eugene, OR 97401
The Honorable Kurt Schrader
494 State St., Suite 210
Salem, OR 97301
To the Oregon Congressional Delegation:
On October 28, 2009, Association Counties (AOC) sent a letter to the Congressional
Delegation asking that you address the inequities resulting from the HUBZone requirements.
As you will recall 15 counties in Oregon are not designated as HUBZone certified despite
Oregon’s unemployment rate which is higher than the national rate. In many of our
communities, unemployment has remained in the double digits while continuing to be
constrained by HUBZone requirements. This eliminates our contractors from bidding on
federal contracts and exacerbates our unemployment plight.
In the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997 it states that, “The Government-wide goal
for participation by qualified HUBZone small business concerns shall be established at...not
less than 3 percent of the total value of all prime contract awards...” In USFS Region 6, the
actual HUBZone Small Business set aside for contracts amounted to 38.4497%, far higher
than any other USFS Region. This over-reliance on HUBZones and the cascading effect
from awards and dispatches which gives HUBZone contractors priority over other small
businesses have had a detrimental effect on many small businesses. (See enclosure) We
ask that you work with the USFS and other federal agencies to address these questions:
• Why is there such an over-reliance on the HUBZone program to meet small business
contracting goals?
• Who made the determination that our base would be raised to 10% and why is Region 6
significantly higher than 10%
• Do the contracting officers have latitude of whether to follow HUBZone set aside
requirements or use other SBA programs to meet legal requirements?
We continue to pursue the HUBZone inequities in our communities and would
appreciate your assistance to help us understand federal policy and move toward a
more equitable solution that will help small businesses overall.
Sincerely,
Mark D. Davidson Steve McClure R. Nellie Bogue Hibbert
Chairman Commissioner Commissioner