The Small Business Administration plans to extend comment period deadlines for proposed small business size standards until November 20. The announcement followed a letter urging Administrator Kelly Loeffler to rescind the proposal.
Ranking Member Edward J. Markey and 12 Senate colleagues signed the letter. They argue the proposed standards would give larger companies access to resources and federal contracts intended for small businesses.
Plans To Extend Comment Period Follow Senate Letter
The committee’s September 23 announcement described the extension as planned. The lawmakers’ request went further, calling for withdrawal of the proposed methodology and rule.
According to the release, the proposal would classify 114,000 larger companies as small businesses. Some have annual revenue above $1 billion, the lawmakers said.
The senators warned that smaller businesses could lose federal contracting opportunities as agencies award work to larger companies. Their letter said lost revenue could force layoffs or business closures.
That warning was the lawmakers’ assessment of the proposal’s consequences. The announcement did not report those outcomes as events that had already happened.
Lawmakers Challenge Revenue And Employee Limits
The letter identified changes to both receipts-based and employee-based standards. Its figures describe the proposed thresholds and compare them with the current maximums.
The highest receipts-based standard would exceed $1 billion in annual revenue, according to the senators. They called that more than 20 times the current $47 million maximum.
The highest employee-based standard would reach 3,600 employees. The lawmakers described that as more than twice the current 1,500 employee maximum.
The senators also cited industry-specific increases. Those included nearly 492% for banks, 1,500% for law firms and more than 2,051% for private equity firms.
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Federal Contracting Figures Underpin The Objection
The letter highlighted companies that already won contracts without a small business designation. More than 37,000 companies among the newly eligible businesses collectively won more than 100,000 federal contracts.
Those awards were worth approximately $71 billion in Fiscal Year 2025, the lawmakers said. The senators used those figures to challenge how the proposed definition could affect reported contracting shares.
If those awards were included, small business contracts would account for 38% of all federal contracts, the letter said. That compares with the 27% SBA announced this summer.
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Senators Seek Withdrawal And Further Discussion
The letter urged SBA to meet with small businesses across the country. It also requested discussions with congressional committees responsible for the proposal and methodology.
The lawmakers said increases should be measured and help small businesses survive, grow and thrive. They objected to standards that would reward large, billion-dollar companies.
Markey had also criticized the proposed overhaul in August, according to the release. The September letter maintained that objection while SBA announced plans to extend comment period deadlines.
The stated next deadline is November 20. The senators’ request remains withdrawal of the proposal, alongside discussions with small businesses and the relevant congressional committees.
