Protecting Small Business Competitions Act of 2025

Regulatory or Legal Changes Top 1

Codify Rule of Two for Small Business Set-Asides

Amends the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. § 644(j)) to establish a statutory mandate requiring federal contracting officers to reserve contracts, task orders, and delivery orders above the simplified acquisition threshold for small business concerns whenever the contracting officer reasonably expects at least two responsible small business offers and award at a fair market price.

• Population Scope Medium Directly affects the universe of federal contracting officers and small business concerns competing for federal contracts above the simplified acquisition threshold — a significant but sector-specific population, not the general public.
• Budgetary Magnitude Low No funds are authorized, appropriated, or obligated; the bill reshapes how existing procurement dollars are competed, not how much is spent.
• Legal / Regulatory Depth High Converts an executive-regulatory practice into a binding statutory mandate, creating a new affirmative legal duty on contracting officers that agencies cannot waive through rulemaking or policy revision.
• Degree of Discretion Granted Medium The 'shall be reserved' language eliminates contracting officer discretion to bypass the set-aside, but the threshold condition ('reasonably expects') preserves judgment on whether two responsible offers at fair market price are anticipated.
• Implementation & Enforcement Burden Medium Imposes a recurring case-by-case compliance obligation on contracting officers across all federal agencies for every procurement above the simplified acquisition threshold, without creating new enforcement infrastructure or penalties.
• Temporal Commitment High Persists indefinitely as a permanent amendment to the Small Business Act until Congress affirmatively repeals or modifies it.