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Small Business News

Small Business News

News | Feb. 16, 2024

Congressional Small Business Fireside Chat

By Suzanne Zurn Office of Small Business Programs

Arlington, VA  –  

The Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP) hosted the first Small Business Fireside Chat of 2024 yesterday with members from the House Small Business Committee as part of National Entrepreneurship Week. The topic of the interactive discussion was “The Importance of Small Businesses in the Defense Industrial Base.”

Mr. Farooq Mitha, OSBP Director, moderated the panel with Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-NY) and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) before a capacity audience at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Members of the live audience and virtual attendees engaged the panelists on a range of diverse and complex topics.

Discussion topics included: enhancing collaboration between small businesses and the DoD to support small business growth, reducing regulatory burdens, improving access to capital especially in rural areas, enhancing federal resource awareness and utilization among small businesses, integrating disabled Americans into the workforce, providing tax incentives for small businesses to engage in research and development, FAA reform legislation in supporting small business operations, and childcare supports to maximize workforce participation.

This dialogue reinforced the significance of collaboration, innovation, and support for small businesses within the defense sector. We thank our esteemed panelists, Rep. Molinaro and Rep. Pappas, for spending time with us.

View Event Photos>>

DoD Small Business News

OSBP and NIST Partner for Small Businesses

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Small Business Programs (OSBP), the principal advisor to the Secretary of Defense on small business matters, and  U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program (MEP) signed a memorandum of agreement on May 02, 2021 to collaborate on strengthening the national security of the small business industrial base.

The new partnership links two DOD organizations with a common mission to assist small businesses and  to achieve shared objectives:

  • Provide training and technical support to small-and-medium U.S. manufacturers engaged or planning to engage with the defense sector.
  • Promote and co-sponsor joint training events beneficial to national security, with an emphasis on cybersecurity for defense manufacturing.
  • Establish direct and consistent relationships at multiple organizational levels within both Parties to document and share complementary assistance best practices.  
  • Develop clear objectives, benchmarks and goals to measure success, added value, and synergy of collaborations between NIST MEP and OUSD(A&S) OSBP.

The OSBP and NIST partnership enables more DOD collaboration and support of small and medium manufacturers (SMMs). They will Collaborate to support the ongoing development and security of the Defense and Industrial Base.

This partnership will combine OSBP’s expertise in leveraging small businesses to close capability gaps for our armed forces with the MEP National Network.  The MEP operational base provides an opportunity for OUSD(A&S) OSBP to serve as a resource for the MEP Program of MEP Centers engages defense sector and defense-relevant manufacturing clients to promote and provide technologies, prototypes and products for National Security missions.