Federal agencies must now explain why they cancel small-business contracts
H.R. 789 — Transparency and Predictability in Small Business Opportunities Act · Filed by George Latimer (D-NY) · 3 cosponsors · Introduced Jan 28, 2025 · Passed chamber
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What it does
This bill requires the Small Business Administration to create rules forcing federal agencies to publicly disclose why they cancelled small-business procurement solicitations, whether they plan to reissue them, and what they'll do instead. When a solicitation is cancelled and won't be reissued, the agency's small-business office must help the affected small firms find similar contracting opportunities. The bill mandates no new spending.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core mechanism is a transparency and disclosure requirement—mandating public disclosure of cancelled federal solicitations and requiring small-business offices to assist affected firms. It is fundamentally about information access and procedural fairness in federal contracting, not about subsidies, tax relief, or deregulation.
What the text implies
- Agencies may face pressure to justify cancellations more rigorously, potentially reducing arbitrary or politically motivated procurement decisions.
- Small businesses gain a formal right to assistance identifying alternatives, shifting the burden of opportunity-matching from individual firms to federal small-business offices.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who it affects
Small businesses and the public gain transparency and predictability in federal contracting—a historically opaque process. Cancelled solicitations currently vanish without explanation, leaving small firms unable to plan or pursue alternatives.