U.S. Congress, House, Law

At last week’s Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD) bi-monthly PALT session, a question was asked about whether companies that are wholly owned through an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) will be added as a small business set aside category.

“The genesis of the question comes from a bill introduced to the House in 2019 known as the ESOP Business Act of 2019,” explained Leslie Faircloth, affectionately known as NAWCTSD’s Small Business Jedi Master. “This bill seeks to include ESOP businesses in the definition of what constitutes a “small business,” to provide a pricing preference to such entities in federal contracting, among other things.

What Faircloth pointed out to the PALT attendees is that the bill is not yet official. “It’s important to understand that this bill has been referred to several committees and it is still in its very early stages,” she explained. “Much can change between now and the time it becomes (or doesn’t become) law.”

Specifically from its summary, the bill would give businesses that are wholly owned through an employee stock ownership plan, various advantages when bidding for executive agency procurement contracts, including a pricing preference not in excess of 10%.

While Faircloth is sure to keep the modeling, simulation, and training community updated on the status, interested parties can use this link to get more info or to follow the effort.

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