Workshop looks at stimulus opportunities

Representatives from the U.S. General Services Agency , U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Air Force will be on hand at workshop beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Great Falls Civic Center in the Commission Chambers to answer questions and provide information to Montana companies interested in opportunities related to the JobsStimulus Bill.

Sen. Jon Tester,DMont., organized Saturday’s workshop after learning that some prime contracts for several Jobs-Stimulus Bill projects along Montana’s northern border had been awarded to outof- state firms that had previously worked with the federal government. The contracts were awarded to those firms in an effort to speed up the work.

In response, Tester contacted the GSA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and even the White House. He demanded a “level playing field” for Montanans to be able to compete for future opportunities related to the Jobs Stimulus Bill.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the economy,” Tester told the GSA’s Administratordesignate during a Senate hearing last week. “If we support the little guys, we’ll have good competition. The system of government we have will work better. Capitalism will work better. And the whole program will work better.”

Saturday’s workshop is free and open to the public.