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US Congress · H.R. 1816 · Passed the House

WOSB Accountability Act

Introduced
Moved
Reached a final decision
Introduced 2025-03-03
Derived from the official record below.

Officially: “WOSB Accountability Act Read the full text

Commerce

What it does

WOSB Accountability Act This bill requires that only women-owned small businesses that have been certified by a federal agency, state government, or national certifying entity approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA) are included when calculating whether a federal agency has met its contracting goals with respect to such businesses during a fiscal year. Certain self-certified, women-owned small businesses that have filed an application for certification are deemed to have been certified until the SBA or national certifying entity makes a determination with respect to the certificati
Summary by the Congressional Research Service, from the official record. Plain-language version below. Not legal advice.

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1Short title

This section would allow the Act to be referred to as the WOSB Accountability Act.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the WOSB Accountability Act .

2Exclusion of self-certified small business concerns owned and controlled by women from goals

This section would add a new rule to the Small Business Act's goal provisions (section 15(g)) stating that only small business concerns owned and controlled by women that have been certified under section 8(m)(2)(E) of the Small Business Act could be counted toward (A) the governmentwide goal under paragraph (1)(A)(v) of that section, and (B) the goals that the head of a federal agency sets for contracting with small business concerns owned and controlled by women under paragraph (2) of that section. Businesses that are only self-certified as women-owned, without that certification, would no longer count toward either goal. This exclusion would not take effect immediately: it would begin on the first day after the end of the second fiscal year that starts after the Administrator issues the regulations described below. Despite that exclusion, a small business concern would still be counted toward those goals, as if it had already been certified under section 8(m)(2)(E), until the Administrator or an SBA-approved national certifying entity makes a decision on its certification, if the business (i) was self-certified as a women-owned small business as of the date the exclusion took effect, (ii) had filed a certification application with the Administrator or an approved national certifying entity before that date, and (iii) had not yet received a determination on that application before that date. This section would require the Administrator to issue regulations carrying out this section no later than one year after the Act's enactment. This section would also require the Administrator, no later than 60 days after enactment and quarterly after that until the date specified in subsection (b), to brief the House Committee on Small Business and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on how these requirements are being implemented. Each briefing would have to include: the total number of small business concerns expected to seek certification as women-owned; the number of certification applications pending with the Administrator or an approved national certifying entity during the period covered; the total number of applications approved by the Administrator or such an entity since enactment; the timelines for processing those applications between submission and approval; the administrative costs to the Administration of making these determinations and the estimated cost to an applicant of seeking certification from a national certifying entity; a discussion of the Administrator's current and future outreach to women-owned small businesses and to federal agencies about this Act's requirements; and recommendations for any additional legislative authority or resources needed to fully carry out this Act. This section would define "Administration" to mean the Small Business Administration; "Administrator" to mean the Administrator of the Small Business Administration; "small business concern" to have the meaning given in section 3 of the Small Business Act; and "small business concern owned and controlled by women" to have the meaning given in section 8(m) of the Small Business Act. Finally, this section would state that no additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act or the amendments it makes.

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Official text, verbatim from the record

2. Exclusion of self-certified small business concerns owned and controlled by women from goals (a) Exclusion of self-Certified WOSBs from Governmentwide and agency goals (1) In general Section 15(g) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 644(g) ) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph: (4) Exclusion of self-certified WOSBs from goals Only small business concerns owned and controlled by women that have been certified under section 8(m)(2)(E) shall be included in calculating the goals established— (A) under paragraph (1)(A)(v); and (B) by the head of a Federal agency for small business concerns owned and controlled by women under paragraph (2). . (2) Effective date The amendments made by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the first day after the end of the second fiscal year beginning after the Administrator issues the regulations required under subsection (b)(2). (b) Requirements relating to self-Certified WOSBs (1) Inclusion of certain self-certified WOSBs in goals (A) In general Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a small business concern described in subparagraph (B) shall be deemed to have been certified by the Administrator or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m) ) as a small business concern owned and controlled by women under paragraph (2)(E) of such section ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m)(2)(E) ) for the purposes of calculating the goals described in paragraph (4) of section 15(g) of the such Act (as added by subsection (a) of this Act) until the Administrator or such a national certifying entity make a determination with respect to the certification of such concern. (B) Small business concerns described A small business concern described in this subparagraph is a small business concern— (i) that is self-certified as a small business concern owned and controlled by women as of the date on which the amendments made by subsection (a) take effect; (ii) that files a certification application with the Administrator or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m) ) prior to such date; and (iii) for which the Administrator or such a national certifying entity does not make a determination prior to such date regarding certification pursuant to such certification application. (2) Rulemaking Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall issue regulations carrying out this section. (c) Quarterly briefings required Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act and on a quarterly basis thereafter until the date specified in subsection (b), the Administrator shall provide to the Committee on Small Business of the House of Representatives and the Committee Small Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate a briefing on the implementation of the requirements of this section. Such briefings shall include— (1) the total number of small business concerns expected to seek certification as a small business concern owned and controlled by women; (2) the number of applications for certification pending with the Administrator or a national certifying entity approved by the Administrator under section 8(m) of the Small Business Act during the period covered by the briefing; (3) the total number of applications approved by the Administrator or such a national certifying entity since the date of the enactment of this Act; (4) the timelines associated with processing such applications by the Administrator or such a national certifying entity between submission and approval; (5) the administrative costs to the Administration to make determinations on such applications and the estimated cost to such applicant to seek certification from a national certifying entity; (6) a discussion of the Administrator’s current and future outreach efforts to small business concerns owned and controlled by women and to Federal agencies on the requirements of this Act; and (7) recommendations for additional legislative authority or resources required to fully implement the requirements of this Act. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) Administration The term Administration means the Small Business Administration. (2) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. (3) Small business concern The term small business concern has the meaning given under section 3 of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 632 ). (4) Small business concern owned and controlled by women The term small business concern owned and controlled by women has the meaning given the term in section 8(m) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 637(m) ). (e) Compliance with CUTGO No additional amounts are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act or the amendments made by this Act.

AI plain languageRead the whole bill in plain language, 2 sections

Where it is

Introduced · 2025-03-03

In the House.

Passed the House · 2025-06-03
Senate floor vote · next · the next step

Official documents

The on-site text is shown verbatim from the GovInfo publication, captured 2026-07-23. The same version at GovInfo.

The numbers

29%
of bills that passed one chamber became law in the 118th Congress, 2023 to 2024 (n=939)
4
sponsors, out of 218 needed to pass

Who is lobbying on this

NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONvia NATIONAL SMALL BUSINESS ASSOCIATION
6 filings
From 6 filings in federal lobbying disclosures (LDA), via lda.gov, naming this bill (2025 to 2026). Filings are self-reported by lobbying firms and show who is paid to influence this bill. They do not say which side, or whether it worked.
Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record. Last action: Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. (2025-06-04).