SBA IT Modernization Reporting Act
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- Congressional materials
- Document type
- Crpt 119Hrpt223
- Case
- Crpt 119Hrpt223
Summary
House Report 119–223 of the 119th Congress, submitted August 15, 2025 by the Committee on Small Business to accompany H.R. 4491, the SBA IT Modernization Reporting Act, with minority views. The committee reports the bill favorably without amendment, recording a roll call vote of 23 ayes and 0 nos at a July 22, 2025 markup. The report says the bill responds to a November 6, 2024 GAO report, GAO–25–106963, on risks in the SBA's newly deployed certification system. Section 2 requires the SBA Administrator to implement the GAO recommendations, submit an implementation plan to Congress within 180 days, and brief Congress within 30 days after that. The minority views of Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez describe the Unified Certification Platform and state that the GAO report made 14 recommendations, all still open.
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Full text
119TH CONGRESS REPORT
" HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES !
1st Session 119–223
SBA IT MODERNIZATION REPORTING ACT
AUGUST 15, 2025.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State
of the Union and ordered to be printed
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas, from the Committee on Small Business,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4491]
The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4491) to require the Administrator of the Small Business Ad-
ministration to implement certain recommendations relating to in-
formation technology modernization, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment
and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Bill Summary ........................................................................ 2
II. Need for Legislation .................................................................................... 2
III. Hearings ....................................................................................................... 2
IV. Committee Consideration ........................................................................... 2
V. Committee Votes ......................................................................................... 2
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4491 ................................................................. 4
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate ............................................. 4
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures 4
IX. Oversight Findings & Recommendations .................................................. 4
X. Performance Goals and Objectives ............................................................ 4
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs ........................................ 5
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits ..................................................................................................... 5
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement ..................................................................... 5
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement ................................................... 5
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................... 5
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority ...................................................... 5
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XVII. Minority Views ............................................................................................ 6
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I. PURPOSE AND BILL SUMMARY
On July 22, 2025, Rep. Cisneros, along with Rep. Jack, intro-
duced H.R. 4491, the SBA IT Modernization Reporting Act. H.R.
4491 requires the SBA Administrator to implement certain rec-
ommendations from a Government Accountability Office (GAO) re-
port that identified deficiencies in the SBA’s current information
technology (IT) systems.
II. NEED FOR LEGISLATION
On July 11, 2024, Chairman Williams sent a letter to former
SBA Administrator Guzman raising concerns about the Adminis-
tration’s planned overhaul of the SBA’s contracting certification
system and the lack of internal safeguards that could have pre-
vented these issues. On November 6, 2024, the GAO issued a re-
port entitled ‘‘IT Modernization: SBA Urgently Needs to Address
Risks on Newly Deployed System.’’ 1 The report highlighted the
SBA’s failure to properly manage risks and implement sufficient
oversight during the rollout of its new certification system.
H.R. 4491, the SBA IT Modernization Reporting Act, is necessary
to ensure the Small Business Administration addresses serious de-
ficiencies in its IT policies and systems, as identified by a GAO re-
port.
In response to the GAO’s findings, this legislation requires the
SBA to develop and submit a detailed implementation plan that
strengthens its IT modernization efforts by improving risk manage-
ment, cybersecurity protections, project scheduling, and cost esti-
mation practices. By mandating the adoption of GAO-recommended
best practices, this bill will help ensure a more secure, accountable,
and efficient SBA IT infrastructure moving forward.
III. HEARINGS
On February 5, 2025, the Committee on Small Business held a
hearing examining matters relating to H.R. 4491 entitled ‘‘Hope on
the Horizon: Prioritizing Small Business Growth in the 119th Con-
gress.’’
IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
quorum being present, on July 22, 2025, and ordered H.R. 4491, to
be reported favorably to the House of Representatives by a roll call
vote of 23 ayes and 0 nos. During the markup no amendments
were offered on this bill.
V. COMMITTEE VOTES
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representa-
tives requires the Committee to list the recorded votes on the mo-
tion to report legislation and amendments thereto. The Committee
voted to favorably report H.R. 4491 to the House of Representatives
at 11:03 AM
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1 GOV’T ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE, GAO–25–106963, IT MODERNIZATION: SBA URGENTLY NEEDS
TO ADDRESS RISKS ON NEWLY DEPLOYED SYSTEM (2024).
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3
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VI. SECTION-BY-SECTION OF H.R. 4491
Section 1—Short title
This act may be cited as the ‘‘SBA IT Modernization Reporting
Act’’.
Section 2—Implementation of recommendations relating to informa-
tion technology modernization for the Small Business Adminis-
tration.
This section requires the SBA Administrator, through the Chief
Information Officer, to implement the recommendations outlined in
the November 2024 GAO report titled, ‘‘IT Modernization: SBA Ur-
gently Needs to Address Risks on Newly Deployed System.’’
Within 180 days, the Administrator must submit a report on the
implementation plan to Congress. The plan must include steps to
improve risk identification, cybersecurity, contractor oversight,
project scheduling, and cost estimation using GAO best practice
guidelines. Within 30 days of submitting the plan to Congress, the
Administrator must provide a briefing to Congress on the plan.
VII. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Pursuant to 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Rep-
resentatives, the Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursu-
ant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the
time this report was filed, the Committee has requested but not re-
ceived a cost estimate from the Director of the Congressional Budg-
et Office.
VIII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY,
AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the Congressional Budg-
et Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following opinion and
estimate with respect to new budget authority, entitlement author-
ity, and tax expenditures. While the Committee has not received an
estimate of new budget authority contained in the cost estimate
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursu-
ant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee does not believe that there will be any new or increased
costs attributable to this legislation.
IX. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the over-
sight findings and recommendations of the Committee on Small
Business with respect to the subject matter contained in H.R. 4491
are incorporated into the descriptive portions of this report.
X. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
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With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of
the Rules of the House of Representatives, the goal of H.R. 4491
is to implement certain recommendations from the GAO’s report
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entitled ‘‘IT Modernization: SBA Urgently Needs to Address Risks
on Newly Deployed System.’’
XI. STATEMENT OF DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 4491 is known to be dupli-
cative of another Federal program, including any program that was
included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public
Law 111–139 or the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic As-
sistance.
XII. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS,
AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill does not con-
tain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of
the Rules of the House of Representatives.
XIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal man-
dates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation.
XV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the
terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or
accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Con-
gressional Accountability Act.
XVI. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House, the
Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in Art. I, § 8,
cl. 1 of the Constitution of the United States.
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XVII. MINORITY VIEWS
The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers four small
business contracting programs that seek to help the government re-
cruit and retain small business contractors and to level the playing
field for them to compete in the federal marketplace. The programs’
requirements and authorities differ, but all four provide contracting
opportunities to small firms that meet the eligibility requirements
in certain socioeconomic categories. Once SBA certifies a firm’s eli-
gibility, it may bid on contracts set aside for small business com-
petitions and direct, sole source awards.
Prior to the fall of 2024, each contracting program had its own
online certification platform and designated staff in SBA’s Office of
Government Contracting & Business Development (GCBD). The
processes and use of multiple portals were cumbersome and bur-
densome for both the SBA and many small business applicants.
Since 2011, SBA has initiated several unsuccessful projects to
modernize the contracting programs’ IT platforms, portals, and/or
systems.1 In 2015, the SBA began developing a platform (Cer-
tify.SBA.gov) that would bring each of the programs’ certifications
systems together in one place, with the intent of streamlining the
certification processes for GCBD and all small businesses, includ-
ing and especially the small businesses seeking more than one cer-
tification.
In November 2022, after the multiple unsuccessful attempts by
SBA to deploy a unified platform,2 Ranking Member Velázquez re-
quested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) conduct
an evaluation. Then, in 2023, the SBA began work on the Unified
Certification Platform (UCP), the most recent attempt to unify the
certification platforms. Because the UCP’s development and deploy-
ment fell within the scope of the inquiry driving the GAO report,
rather than look retroactively, GAO evaluated the UCP as it was
being developed and deployed.
SBA opened the UCP for initial certification applications in late
October 2024 and GAO published their report in November. In it,
GAO raised serious concerns regarding UCP’s development and
SBA’s process for IT modernization projects. The report made 14
recommendations. Three focused specifically on UCP. Eleven others
listed changes to SBA’s risk management, cybersecurity, and
schedule and cost estimation procedures applicable to any SBA IT
modernization project.3 All 14 recommendations remain open.
Failing to use best practices to manage risk, costs, and security,
wastes taxpayer dollars and puts the information small businesses
1 U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN. OFF. OF INSPECTOR GEN., THE SBA DID NOT FOLLOW FEDERAL REG-
ULATIONS AND GUIDANCE IN THE ACQUISITION OF THE ONETRACK SYSTEM (Feb. 12, 2014).
2 U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN. OFF. OF INSPECTOR GEN., EVALUATION OF CERTIFY.SBA.GOV (Jul.
30, 2020).
3 GOV’T ACCOUNTABILITY OFF., IT MODERNIZATION: SBA URGENTLY NEEDS TO ADDRESS RISKS
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ON NEWLY DEPLOYED SYSTEM (Nov. 6, 2024).
(6)
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have provided to SBA at risk. The SBA IT Modernization Report
Act will address the underlying issues that GAO highlighted in its
report by requiring the SBA to put in place policies, procedures and
best practices for developing and deploying IT modernization
projects.
NYDIA M. VELÁZQUEZ,
Ranking Member.
Æ
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