Wednesday, November 16, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) filed an amendment with Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) to a must-pass bill that would restore Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) status to 16 rural Pennsylvania counties. The special designation helps small businesses in rural Pennsylvania gain access to federal contract opportunities which helps grow their businesses and create jobs in the region.
Citing a reduced unemployment rate, the Small Business Administration (SBA) excluded the following Pennsylvania counties from the HUBZone program: Armstrong, Bedford, Clearfield, Clinton, Crawford, Greene, Huntingdon, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, McKean, Mifflin, Monroe, Schuylkill, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga and Wayne. Casey has filed his amendment to restore the status of these counties to the Senate’s Financial Services Appropriations Bill- a must pass piece of legislation that funds the government.
The HUBZone program, which is administered by the SBA, helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. These preferences go to small businesses that obtain HUBZone certification in part by employing staff who live in a HUBZone. The company must also maintain a "principal office" in one of these specially designated areas. For the past several years, 16 Pennsylvania counties were included in the program, allowing local businesses to boost their bottom lines by taking advantage of federal contracting opportunities. But an SBA decision has removed these counties from the program, meaning that local small businesses no longer have access to these unique contracting opportunities.
Despite the 2010 census showing a small reduction in Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate, small businesses in Pennsylvania’s rural counties are still struggling to deal with the nation’s tough economy. By losing this special designation, businesses in these counties could see a reduction to their bottom lines, hurting the region’s overall economy.
Eric Bridges, Executive Director of the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission, spoke directly to the importance of this program, saying: “The HUB Zone Certification provides regional companies with an advantage in contracting with Federal government activities and prime contractors that are required by law to set-aside 3% of their contract dollars for HUB Zone Certified Businesses. The loss of the HUB Zone Certification to regional companies is a major blow to their marketing strategies and their ability to be more competitive in the Federal contracting arena.”
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