City of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel recently announced two new programs which are designed to "leverage taxpayer resources to get a better deal for the City and promote growth in our small, minority- and woman-owned businesses."

The first program, called the Small Business Initiative, is designed specifically to provide small businesses an opportunity to participate in city-funded construction projects. The program, which will be race and gender neutral, will be exclusive to small businesses and will be limited to construction projects that are under $3 million in total cost. This will provide a level playing field for small businesses to compete in the construction space, a key area in which larger companies are at an inherent advantage.

The second program, known as the Diversity Credit Program, is designed to increase the use of minority- and woman-owned businesses on contracts issued in the private sector. This will be accomplished by providing supplier diversity participation credit on city contracts for contracts that are awarded in the private sector. For every $3 of private sector contracts, $1 in credit will be issued to the contractor, which can then be used to provide up to 5 percent in participation credit on a subsequent city contract.

According to Emanuel, under current City of Chicago guidelines, every $100 million that is contracted with outside firms leads to $28 million in contracts for minority- and woman-owned firms. Under this new program, the total contract value to minority- and woman-owned firms could be $38 million. This amounts to an approximate 36 percent increase over what the city can do on its own, significantly increasing business for minority- and woman-owned firms at no cost to taxpayers.

The new programs will take effect immediately. For more information, visit www.cityofchicago.org.

In January, President Barack Obama called on Congress to reinstate presidential authority to reorganize and consolidate the federal government, in an effort to ensure swift action on his proposals to streamline government, by eliminating duplication, waste, and inefficiencies.

The President’s proposal would initiate new accountability by mandating that any plan must reduce the number of government agencies or save taxpayer dollars. It would also ensure expedient review by Congress.

The President laid out his first proposed use of that authority consolidating six agencies into one agency to promote competitiveness, exports, and American business. Currently, there are six major departments and agencies that focus primarily on business and trade in the federal government.  The six are: U.S. Department of Commerce’s core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency.

The President believes consolidating these agencies along with other related programs will help entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes grow, compete, and hire, leveraging one cohesive department with one mission: to spur job creation and expand the U.S. economy. 

For additional information on this proposal, visit www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/13/government-reorganization-fact-sheet. 

In related news, the President has elevated the Small Business Administration to a Cabinet-level agency. This will serve "to make sure that small business owners have their own seat at the table in our Cabinet meetings." The SBA was a Cabinet-level agency during the Clinton administration.

The U.S. Department of Treasury has reported that it has exceeded its overall small business goal. A record 34 percent of its $2.2 billion contracting budget supported small businesses.Each year, federal departments and agencies work to meet an overall goal for the portion of goods and services they purchase from small businesses. They also set sub-goals for small businesses located in economically distressed areas or that are owned by service-disabled veterans, women, and minorities. These goals support minority-owned
businesses and encourage competition.