To require the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy to establish a repository of supplier information to facilitate the qualification of suppliers, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Schmidt introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The "Common Repository for Small Businesses Act" requires the Department of Defense to create a centralized online database where small businesses can submit their qualification information once, rather than repeatedly providing the same information to multiple defense contractors. The repository must be established within 90 days and will streamline the process for small manufacturers and businesses that want to become DoD suppliers.
Who Benefits and How
Small businesses and manufacturers seeking defense contracts are the primary beneficiaries. Instead of spending time filling out similar qualification forms for every prime contractor they approach, they can submit their information to a single repository. This reduces administrative burden and makes it easier for small businesses to break into the defense supply chain. Defense prime contractors like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon also benefit by saving money on supplier vetting, as they can access pre-qualified supplier information from the centralized database. Procurement Technical Assistance Centers receive enhanced tools for market research and cybersecurity support.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Taxpayers will fund the development and operation of this new database system, though no specific appropriation amount is specified in the bill. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy bears the implementation responsibility and must complete the project within 90 days, creating a tight deadline for DoD staff. If the repository is built through a public-private partnership (which the bill permits), DoD contractors selected for the project will receive government contracts, potentially raising concerns about favoritism or conflicts of interest.
Key Provisions
- Mandates creation of a DoD supplier information repository within 90 days of enactment
- Repository must store information commonly required for initial vetting of contractors
- Development must coordinate with the Office of Small Business Programs and Procurement Technical Assistance Centers
- Authorizes public-private partnerships with DoD contractors to build the system, but only if it reduces duplication, saves supplier time, or cuts prime contractor costs
- Provides market research, supply chain resiliency, cybersecurity, and secure cloud tools to support small manufacturers
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Establishes a centralized DoD repository to streamline the initial vetting process for small businesses seeking to become defense contractors
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Reduce barriers to entry for small businesses in defense contracting by centralizing and standardizing the initial supplier qualification process"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Small manufacturers seeking DoD contracts
- Small businesses applying to be DoD suppliers
- Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs)
- Prime contractors (reduced qualification costs)
- DoD Office of Small Business Programs
Likely Burden Bearers
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy (implementation responsibility)
- DoD administrative staff (database development and maintenance)
- Taxpayers (funding for repository development and operation)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_department"
- → Department of Defense
- "the_assistant_secretary"
- → Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A repository of information commonly required for the initial vetting by the Department of Defense of contractors applying to be qualified to supply products or services to the Department
Partnership with one or more DoD contractors to establish the repository, contingent on reducing duplicative efforts, reducing supplier time burden, or streamlining/reducing prime contractor costs
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