Title 50 — War and National DefenseRelease 119-73
§4551 Small business
Title 50 › Chapter CHAPTER 55— - DEFENSE PRODUCTION › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— - GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 4551
Summary
Give small businesses the greatest possible chance to work as contractors and subcontractors in programs that keep and grow the country’s industrial and technology base. Program officials must handle small business requests, applications, and appeals quickly. Small-business representatives must be allowed to join advisory committees. Information about the programs and related actions must be made available to small businesses. If the President decides to allocate materials under section 4511, small businesses must receive a fair share based on what they normally get, and new small businesses should get extra consideration when possible.
Full Legal Text
Title 50, §4551
War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Small business concerns shall be given the maximum practicable opportunity to participate as contractors, and subcontractors at various tiers, in all programs to maintain and strengthen the Nation’s industrial base and technology base undertaken pursuant to this chapter.
(b)In administering the programs, implementing regulations, policies, and procedures under this chapter, requests, applications, or appeals from small business concerns shall, to the maximum extent practicable, be expeditiously handled.
(c)Representatives of small business concerns shall be afforded the maximum opportunity to participate in such advisory committees as may be established pursuant to this chapter.
(d)Information about this chapter and activities undertaken in accordance with this chapter shall be made available to small business concerns.
(e)Whenever the President makes a determination to exercise any authority to allocate any material pursuant to section 4511 of this title, small business concerns shall be accorded, to the extent practicable, a fair share of such material, in proportion to the share received by such business concerns under normal conditions, giving such special consideration as may be possible to emerging small business concerns.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Termination of SectionFor termination of section, see section 4564(a) of this title.
Editorial Notes
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning act Sept. 8, 1950, ch. 932, 64 Stat. 798, known as the Defense Production Act of 1950, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 4501 of this title and Tables. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 2151 of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.
Amendments
1992—Pub. L. 102–558 amended section generally, substituting present provisions for provisions stating policy to encourage small business enterprises and providing for measures to carry out this policy, for allocation of materials in the civilian market, and for distribution of defense contracts. 1980—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 96–294 substituted “
June 30, 1980” for “
August 9, 1955”. 1955—Subsec. (c). Act Aug. 9, 1955, § 4, struck out specific dates which were the basis for determination of materials in civilian market and inserted provisions requiring that a business receive its fair share based on a representative period before imposition of the allocation. Subsec. (d). Act Aug. 9, 1955, § 5, added subsec. (d). 1953—Subsec. (c). Act
June 30, 1953, amended subsec. (c) generally, the principal change being to provide, in the allocation to business of a fair share of available civilian supply, a new base period for allocating materials not under control on
July 1, 1953. 1951—Subsec. (c). Act
July 31, 1951, provided that limitations and restrictions on production of specific items shall not exclude new concerns.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1992 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 102–558 deemed to have become effective Mar. 1, 1992, see section 304 of Pub. L. 102–558, set out as a note under section 4502 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1980 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 96–294 effective June 30, 1980, see section 107 of Pub. L. 96–294, set out as a note under section 4502 of this title.
Effective Date
of 1955 AmendmentAmendment by act Aug. 9, 1955, effective as of close of July 31, 1955, see section 11 of act Aug. 9, 1955, set out as a note under section 4502 of this title.
Executive Documents
Delegation of Functions Authority of President to implement this chapter under this subchapter with respect to responding to the spread of COVID–19 within the United States delegated to Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Homeland Security, see section 2(a) of Ex. Ord. No. 13911, Mar. 27, 2020, 85 F.R. 18403, set out as a note under section 4511 of this title. Authority of President to implement this chapter under this subchapter with respect to hoarding of health and medical resources necessary to respond to the spread of COVID–19 within the United States delegated to Secretary of Health and Human Services, see section 2(a)(ii) of Ex. Ord. 13910, Mar. 23, 2020, 85 F.R. 17001, set out as a note under section 4512 of this title. Functions of President under this chapter relating to production, conservation, use, control, distribution, and allocation of energy, delegated to Secretary of Energy, see section 4 of Ex. Ord. No. 11790, June 25, 1974, 39 F.R. 23185, set out as a note under section 761 of Title 15, Commerce and Trade. For delegation of certain authority of President under this subchapter, see section 802 of Ex. Ord. No. 13603, Mar. 16, 2012, 77 F.R. 16659, set out as a note under section 4553 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
50 U.S.C. § 4551
Title 50 — War and National Defense
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73