Some of DHS’s most consistent success stories stem from our extraordinary accomplishments supporting America’s small businesses. The most prominent symbol of this success comes each year as the Small Business Administration releases its annual scorecard and DHS earns an “A” grade or higher. I am proud to report that DHS’s record continues as we have earned our eighth consecutive “A” grade or higher in a row, and our second “A+” grade! DHS is the only agency out of the seven agencies with the largest purchasing activities to realize such success each year the Small Business Administration has issued its scorecard.
Our small business accomplishments are a great example of DHS’s Unity of Effort and our strong emphasis on industry engagement. Through the extensive collaboration of the contracting officials, small business experts, and program officials across DHS and our regular engagement with industry, we are able to continually identify the right small businesses to support the DHS mission. In fiscal year 2016, about 16,000 companies representing all 50 states, Washington D.C., and five territories held DHS prime contracts. About 10,500 of these companies are small businesses and about 2,200 of them secured their first DHS prime contract last year. A heartfelt congratulations to the entire DHS Team!