mr. chairman , federal contracts for overseas work have increased substantially over the last several years . 
this rapid increase in government buying is largely the result of the war in iraq and combating terrorism . 
since the spring of 2003 , congress has appropriated close to $ 200 billion for operations in iraq and afghanistan . 
the supplemental appropriations bill we are considering today provides an additional $ 81 billion . 
much of this funding will be spent on contracts for overseas work , and most of these contracts will be awarded to large corporations . 
unfortunately , while 23 percent of contracting dollars spent domestically must include small businesses , there is no requirement that small companies have access to the bulk of overseas contracts . 
my amendment would change that by requiring that small businesses have access to international contracts just as they do for domestic work . 
federal agencies currently do not include overseas contracts when calculating their small businesses goals . 
therefore , there are no means of holding agencies accountable for providing u.s. small companies with access to international work . 
as a result , only 1 percent of government overseas contracts are awarded to small companies , and barely 500 of the more than 23 million u.s. small businesses are performing work abroad . 
by requiring that contracts funded by this bill are calculated in the federal government 's small business goals , we start to instill credibility in the system while ensuring that small firms receive their fair share . 
these goals were enacted to ensure small business participation in the federal marketplace . 
however , the federal government has failed to meet its small business goal in each of the last 5 years . 
in one year alone , this failure cost u.s. small businesses over $ 15 billion in lost contracting opportunities . 
we have a lot to make up for with our nation 's small business owners . 
we can start by ensuring that they have access to overseas contracts . 
mr. chairman , there are 23 million small businesses in the united states . 
they represent 99 percent of all employers , create three out of four new jobs , and employ more than half of all private sector workers . 
historically , when the government has needed to build up for military operations , it has turned to small businesses to fulfill its procurement needs because of their flexibility and quick response time . 
