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The
small increase, which would go well beyond the 5% required by
law, is part of a bid to harness the federal government's hefty
buying power to boost equity, the White House said.
"President Biden's committed to leveraging every tool available
to him and helping level the playing field for small and
underserved businesses ... as a way to narrow the racial wealth
gap," a senior administration official told reporters on a
briefing call prior to the announcement.
He said the federal government is the single largest buyer of
goods and services in the world with $600 billion a year.
"Federal government can be a powerful driver of equity and
wealth building in underserved communities," he added, noting
that the overall goal was to reach 15% by 2025.
Small disadvantaged businesses are a category under federal law
for which Black-owned, Latino-owned and other minority-owned
businesses "are presumed to qualify," the White House said.
The move comes after a recent report found that the number of
new small business entrants to federal procurement decreased by
60% over the past decade, the White House said.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Alexandra Alper; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
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