Comment on FR Doc # 2026-12561

My name is Mary Jo Avila, owner of MJ Avila Company, Inc. My firm performs civil and some building construction services in California. We own heavy equipment and perform grading, excavation, and demolition services in the private, farming, and government markets... We are located in Kerman, California. A small city in Fresno County. It needs jobs, career opportunities, and growth. I plead with the Council not to finalize these rules as written. They would close opportunities and doors for woman-owned and small firms like mine the hardest. The protections being removed are the reason my firm has been able to find new markets and jobs for us, our employees, and our communities. Please find another way to streamline the FAR without the cost of the mandatory small-business protections these rules remove. We need the small-business protections, especially "WOSB" protections. It is our lifeline for so many. Thank you so very much for considering my comments. Finding opportunities in time We typically learn about federal opportunities through SAM.gov several times per week, and it usually takes us about three to four weeks to prepare a bid or quote. If the guaranteed 15-day head start disappeared on smaller purchases, we would miss most opportunities because we do not have a full-time estimator. As a small woman-owned business, we wear many hats. We depend on a guaranteed 15-day head start on smaller purchases to grow our company. We aim for and need growth to afford a full-time estimator and contract administrator, which will then benefit our communities, state, and our company & employees. Growing past small Our typical federal contract is around $75,000, and the work we are trying to grow into runs $100,000-$1,500,000. If small-business consideration above $350,000 became optional, our path to growth would become a barrier to reaching the type of projects to give us a lifeline to growth. Losing the people who open doors A small-business specialist, OSDBU office, or agency market research led us to our first National Parks and Army Corp of Engineers Federal projects.. Without required market research, buyers would likely utilize incumbents in big vehicles already in place because no one would have a need to look for or open doors to woman-owned business contractors. Our company was able to provide jobs and opportunities to so many who would otherwise not have the opportunity to grow, because it would limit opportunities to a section of the market that so needs them. A small business is defined as having revenues up to $30 million. Our revenue is around $2 to $4 million per year. We would not be able to compete due to a lack of manpower to continue bidding and performing at the same time with a small staff. Sole-source opportunities going quiet Public sole-source notices have let us market and make ourselves known as a capable contractor qualified to compete and perform. If sole-source intentions in our industry stopped being posted, we would never know when to make our case to the Government. Big business and bigger companies have the staffing and the revenue to close those doors on woman-owned businesses. We work hard at survival and wear many hats. We need the help, which in turn helps many phases of the supply chain. Not until the latter years were we able to enhance the lives of our employees and the company. Without sole-source notices, we could never grow our qualifications because our costs are much higher than those of companies with sufficient revenue to cover their overhead. Your certification losing its pull Getting WOSB/EDWOSB certified took us five months and real-time experience, qualifications, and determination, and it has provided a path we would otherwise not have been able to reach. If the program's name disappears from the publicizing rules, we expect longer hours, hardships to survive, and downsizing of our company due to fewer buyers to steer opportunities our way. Please find another way to streamline the FAR without the cost of the mandatory small-business protections these rules remove. We need the small-business protections, especially "WOSB" protections. It is our lifeline for so many. Thank you so very much for considering my comments. I support and incorporate by reference the comments filed in this docket by the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce — its principal comment (Comment ID FAR-2026-0005-0013) and its comment under 5 U.S.C. 610 (Comment ID FAR-2026-0005-0014).