Government Contracting Placeholder
Before I post this information, I'd like to be honest with you.
If you plan to pursue this program; You need to have your shyt together! Again, if you plan to pursue this program you need to be efficient and organized.
If you do so, you are 100% guaranteed to make $4 million dollars in revenue.
The 8(a) program.
Shout out to the congressman who built the biggest injection of wealth into the black community ever.
I gotta pay homage to breh.
THE MAN RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE BLACK MILLIONAIRES
CONGRESSMAN PARREN JAMES MITCHELL
Parren James Mitchell was born on April 29, 1922 in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents were of humble beginnings. His father, Clarence M. Mitchell, Sr., was a waiter, and his mother, Elsie Davis Mitchell, was a homemaker.
As a young man, Parren Mitchell served as an officer in the 92nd Infantry Division during World War II and was wounded in Italy. He returned as a war hero and received the Purple Heart medal for jumping on a live grenade to save the lives of three other soldiers. His selfless effort should have merited a Silver Star or Medal of Honor, but Blacks could not receive such medals at that time.
In 1950, Parren Mitchell applied to graduate school at the University of Maryland, the President of the College Park campus rebuffed him by saying it was "inadvisable for Blacks to attend the College Park campus." Mitchell and the NAACP sued for admission and prevailed becoming the first African American to receive a post graduate degree from the main campus of the University of Maryland. He was a champion of civil rights and led local activists during the civil rights era. Today, the University of Maryland graduates more African Americans per year than any other state university system in the nation. This was the start of his long productive life in fighting for the underserved communities.
In 1968, Mitchell decided to run for Congress and challenged nine-term Democratic incumbent Samuel Friedel in the Democratic primary and lost. He sought a rematch in 1970, and this time he narrowly defeated Friedel by only 38 votes. He won the general election in November, becoming the first African American to represent the state of Maryland in Congress.
Mitchell was one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), playing a significant role in crafting the identity of the new organization. As of 2019, CBC has 55 members.
During his sixteen years in Congress, he served on multiple committees, among them, he was Chairman of the House Small Business Committee. Through this committee and as chair to the Congressional Black Caucus he won a reputation as a staunch supporter of black-owned businesses. In 1978, Public Law 95-507 created a pilot program for contracts to be set-aside to socially disadvantaged businesses, which Black-owned firms would fall under. Because of this, Mitchell has been called the father of the federal set-aside program, allowing ten percent of federal business contracts to be awarded to minority owned businesses.
It is this landmark legislation which paved the way for today’s 8(a) Program and every other small business program. “I worked very hard in Congress to get laws on the books to benefit minority business,” Mitchell told Sonny Goldreich in the Baltimore Business Journal. “Everywhere I speak, I say, ‘This is the second phase of the civil rights movement. We cannot expect to be full-fledged citizens until we fully participate in the economy.’”
A Brief History of the 8(a) Program
To fully appreciate the magnitude of Parren Mitchell’s impact in society, we’ll need to better understand the 8(a) Business Development Program. The 8(a) Program allows for minority business owners with control of 51% or more of a small business to obtain admission as a certified 8(a) company. Through this certification, 8(a) companies can win set-aside contracts which other non-8(a) companies are excluded from. The greatest benefit of the 8(a) certification is Sole Source Contracts (SSC). Sole Source Contracts are direct award projects to one company. There is no bidding or a competitive procurement process. It is awarded purely on the capabilities of the company and the trust from the contracting officer. Most importantly, SSC’s have a high ceiling of $4 million. A certified 8(a) company can receive a direct award up to $4 million without having to compete with any other companies.
Below is a brief history of the 8(a) Program.
The creation of the current 8(a) Program evolved through multiple stages. It’s genesis rests in the cradle of World War II. In 1942, Congress first authorized a federal agency to enter into prime contracts with other agencies and subcontract with small businesses. This was to support the procurement of goods and services to support the war efforts from small businesses which often didn’t understand procurement regulations and policies. This agency was called Smaller War Plants Corporation (SWPC). The SWPC’s subcontracting authority expired along with the SWPC at the end of the World War II.
In 1951, at the start of the Korean War, Congress created the Small Defense Plants Administration (SDPA), given the same powers that the SWPC. In 1953, Congress transferred the SDPA’s subcontracting authorities to the newly created SBA, with the intent that the SBA would exercise these powers in peacetime, as well as in wartime.
When the Small Business Act of 1958 transformed the SBA into a permanent agency, the authority of subcontracting small businesses to the SBA acting as the prime was included in Section 8(a) of the act, thus the name, 8(a) Certification Program.
In 1967, Presidents Lyndon Johnson created the President’s Test Cities Program (PTCP), which involved a small-scale use of the SBA’s authority under Section 8(a) to award contracts to firms willing to locate in urban areas and hire unemployed individuals, largely African Americans, or sponsor minority-owned businesses by providing capital or management assistance. However, under the PTCP, small businesses did not have to be minority-owned to receive subcontracts under Section 8(a).
In 1968, the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Program was enhanced to allow for federal purchases from socially or economically disadvantaged owners of small businesses. However, the 8(a) Program was not effective and rarely utilized. The SBA mainly focused on supporting loans and not contracting.
On March 5th, 1969, President Richard Nixon, with advice from Robert J. Brown, established the Office of Minority Business Enterprise. Today, it has transformed to become the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).
In 1977, The Public Works Employment Act as amended by Congressman Parren J. Mitchell required that 10% of each Federal Construction project be awarded to minority businesses. This set the stage for the use of set-aside programs.
In 1978, Public Law 95-507 mandated that bidders for federal contracts in excess of $500,000 for goods and services and $1,000,000 for construction must submit a small business utilization plan which includes percentage goals for minority businesses. Today, large firms have taken this cue and formed diversity programs and small business programs.
Also, in 1978, Congress amended the Small Business Act to give the SBA express statutory authority to support subcontracting with social and economically disadvantaged firms, which specifically include Black owned businesses and other minority owned businesses.
The Father of the 8(a) Program.
Many hands went into the establishment of set-asides and the 8(a) Program, but no other had a louder voice and more profound effort to see that contracting dollars were set-aside to the Black community. As a Congressman, Parren Mitchell aggressively insisted that the billions of federal contracts be made accessible to Black owned companies.
It is through these and many other legislations which Parren Mitchell fought for that I dubbed him with the moniker as the “Father of the 8(a) Program.” He is a GIANT through the countless regulations which he sponsored and supported. Parren Mitchell’s service in Congress paved the way for the most powerful entrepreneurial program for the Black community and other socially disadvantaged groups. Every small business program which came after owes its roots to Parren Mitchell.
Set-aside programs, sole source contracts, minority certifications, women business enterprise programs, Alaskan and Tribally owned corporations, Vet First contracting initiatives, Ability One, HUBzone certification, DBE, MBE, WBE, diversity programs and many other such small business initiatives can be traced to the work which Parren Mitchell and his peers fought for.
For the magnitude of impact which Parren Mitchell has accomplished, he is an unsung hero in the annals of American history and in the Black community. Very few people know who he is or the impact he has made. So are the entrepreneurs who he has helped. They are the millionaires next door. They quietly go about their business of providing value and services to government agencies. They grow their companies from a few employees to millions in revenue and in some cases, billions in revenue.
interesting I\m guessing you outsoruced all the technical bits to asia and handled the client facing part?
