Venable and a group of government contractors have teamed up to form the Small Business Coalition for Fair Contracting.
The move comes in response to the Obama Administration's push to shave 7% off government contract spending, largely by bringing work that had been contracted out back in-house.
"Although well intentioned, the federal government’s current in-sourcing initiative threatens to take away work from hundreds of small entrepreneurs,” said Venable partner Robert Burton, who is leading the new group.
Formerly a top official at the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, Burton said the coalition will focus on educating members of Congress about the negative impact of contracting cuts on small business.
“You hear stories here and there, but you don’t realize how devastating it is,” he said, adding that coalition members have lost employees to the government and had contracts cancelled, with one client losing 20% of its workforce overnight.
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