Protecting Small Business Competitions Act of 2025
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Protecting Small Business Competitions Act writes the Rule of Two into section 15(j) of the Small Business Act. For purchases above the simplified acquisition threshold, each federal contract, task order, or delivery order for goods or services must be reserved for small business concerns when the contracting officer reasonably expects offers from two or more responsible small businesses and expects award at a fair market price. The bill turns the set-aside logic into a statutory requirement for covered federal procurement actions.
Who Benefits and How
Small business concerns benefit because covered federal purchases must be reserved for small businesses when at least two responsible small firms are expected to compete at fair market prices. Small business government contractors benefit from stronger statutory leverage in contract, task order, and delivery order competitions. The Small Business Administration benefits from clearer statutory backing for small-business procurement policy. Newer small firms seeking federal work benefit when contracting officers must evaluate set-aside availability before opening covered purchases more broadly.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal contracting officers must assess whether two or more responsible small business concerns can submit offers and whether award can be made at a fair market price. Federal procurement offices must document and administer small-business reservations on covered contracts, task orders, and delivery orders. Large federal contractors may lose access to some competitions that are reserved for small businesses. Agencies with urgent procurement needs may have less flexibility when the Rule of Two threshold is met.
Key Provisions
- Codifies the Rule of Two in the Small Business Act for covered federal contracts, task orders, and delivery orders.
- Requires small-business reservation when the anticipated value exceeds the simplified acquisition threshold.
- Requires the contracting officer to reasonably expect offers from at least two responsible small business concerns.
- Requires the contracting officer to reasonably expect award at a fair market price before reserving the procurement.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Codifies the federal procurement Rule of Two by requiring each contract, task order, or delivery order above the simplified acquisition threshold to be reserved for small business concerns when the contracting officer reasonably expects offers from at least two responsible small businesses and award at a fair market price.
Key Policy Areas
Small Business, Procurement, Government Operations
Primary Purpose
Codifies the federal procurement Rule of Two by requiring each contract, task order, or delivery order above the simplified acquisition threshold to be reserved for small business concerns when the contracting officer reasonably expects offers from at least two responsible small businesses and award at a fair market price.
Policy Domains
House resolution provisions
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Small business concerns
- Small business government contractors
- Small Business Administration
- Newer small firms seeking federal work
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal contracting officers
- Federal procurement offices
- Large federal contractors
- Agencies with urgent procurement needs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedOrdered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute …
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
Ms. Velázquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Referred to the House Committee on Small Business.
Introduced in House
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "sba"
- → Small Business Administration
- "contracting_officer"
- → Federal contracting officer
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology