CLM 059 Exam Questions and Answers Updated 100% Graded A

Small businesses operate in an environment that includes a variety of entities, each with its own interests and influence on small business participation in Government acquisition - Congress generates the legislation that impacts acquisition regulations and policy. Since the Depression of the 1930s, when Congress first enacted legislation to help businesses recover from financial difficulties, Congress has enacted a number of laws; such as the Budget Control Act of 2010 and an annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), that support and promote small businesses. The Small Business Act of 1953 created national policy to provide maximum opportunity for small businesses to participate in Government acquisitions as prime contractors and subcontractors. Additionally, the Act officially established the Small Business Administration (SBA) to implement the national policy. Other laws have established procurement goals for small businesses in Federal acquisitions. Assistance and Advocacy Groups Advocacy groups such as Procurement Technical Assistance Centers, Small Business Development Centers, and Chambers of Commerce provide assistance to small businesses. They educate organizations on how small businesses can help them accomplish business with their agency. - Small businesses see the federal government as potential customer that is rich with opportunities Office of Management and Budget (OMB) / Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) As the President's executive agent for budget, finance, acquisition, and performance management, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) promulgates many policies that impact small businesses. These are issued as OMB circulars and memos. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), which is part of OMB, provides overall direction for Government-wide procurement policies, regulations and procedures to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in acquisition processes, including Small Business Programs. - Federal Agencies All Federal agencies in the Executive Branch of the Federal Government are charged with maximizing opportunities for small businesses. Each agency has small business and socioeconomic goals to achieve, including the Department of Defense (DoD). DoD is the largest Federal agency with the greatest share of the Federal Government's budget and thus the greatest responsibility for doing business with small businesses. For the Government to achieve the Federal-wide small business goal, DoD must achieve its small business goal. Small Business Administration (SBA)The Small Business Administration (SBA) creates regulations that ensure that small business interests will be protected. SBA's representatives are responsible for aiding, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses in Government procurements. - Other Than Small Business While large businesses, educational institutions, non-profits and other entities that are not small businesses may view small businesses as privileged competitors, they also recognize that there are benefits in partnering with small businesses in Government contracts. Small businesses are important to our nation; they strengthen the foundation of our economic security and industrial base. Additionally, small businesses are just as important to DoD. Because small businesses are nimble and can respond rapidly to our needs, they can help DoD realize greater efficiency and flexibility, take advantage of innovative technologies and approaches, and improve military readiness. - Small businesses drive economic growth in the United States. The Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Advocacy, is the statistical arm of SBA. Part of their mission is to conduct, sponsor, and promote economic research that provides an environment for small business growth. While they regularly publish reports and other documents on economic research and statistics, their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document is very helpful for learning and communicating national small business contributions. Summary statistics on tangible small business contributions on a per project or program basis (cost, schedule and performance contributions) are difficult to track in DoD. There is no centralized database to capture and report these types of small business success stories. As Acquisition Professionals, you can help mitigate these challenges by sharing your small business success stories (quantitative and qualitative) with your local SBP and leadership. These success stories generally make it into public affairs articles, annual performance appraisals/recognition, and your Component/agency annual inputs for SBA's Scorecard, which SBA uses for measuring and grading agency small business performance. Despite the difficulties in manually collecting/reporting the tangible small business contributions, the DoD is the most significant agency when it comes to influencing Federal small business performance outcomes. This is - The SBA's representatives are responsible for aiding, assisting, and protecting the interests of small businesses in Government procurements. The Office of Federal Procurement Policy provides overall direction for Government-wide procurement policies, regulations, and procedures to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in acquisition processes, including Small Business Programs. - Within the Department of Defense (DoD), small business begins with the Department's Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP). The DoD OSBP, an arm of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (OUSD) for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (AT&L), provides policy and oversight for the Department's Small Business Programs through the operation of Component (Military Departments and Other Defense Agencies) Small Business Program offices across DoD. OSBP's focus on small business utilization in acquisitions supports several key initiatives within DoD, such as Better Buying Power (BBP). Small business acquisitions contribute directly to achieving these DoD initiatives and objectives for improved efficiency, increased innovation, and improved tradecraft in the acquisition of services. - To achieve the DoD objectives for improved efficiency, increased innovation, and improved tradecraft in the acquisition of services, DoD uses a variety of Small Business Programs to support DoD's missions, which in turn ensures compliance with national policy to maximize opportunities for small businesses. Small Business Programs The Small Business Administration (SBA) is the Executive Branch Government agency responsible for administering the Small Business Programs. The categories of Small Business Programs include small business and small businesses in the socioeconomic categories which are: