SALEM - Most news related to President Barack Obama's federal economic stimulus program focuses on the bailout of big corporations, but small businesses can benefit from the landmark legislation as well, says U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney.

A Salem Democrat and key member of congressional workforce and development committees, Tierney on June 1 will kick off a free workshop at Salem State College designed to show the owners of small firms how to do business with the federal government.

"We had a large grants workshop at the college last March with more than 400 people participating. There's obviously great interest, so we're putting together a free seminar where small businesses can network and learn how to take advantage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)," Tierney said.

The congressman, in partnership with the federal General Service Administration, will oversee a series of workshops and networking sessions led by a wide array of experts from private organizations and government agencies.

The federal and state agencies and related organizations scheduled to participate in the seminar include the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC), U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center (ESC) Small Business Office at Hanscom Air Force Base, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Programs for Research & Development, U.S. Department of Labor, North Shore Workforce Investment Board, the state Operational Services Division (Comm-PASS), the state Office of Minority and Women Business Assistance (SOMWBA), U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Commerce and the Internal Revenue Service.

"The GSA wants to reach out to the small businesses that showed last March and others interested in finding out about funding, grants and accessing federal monies," said Tierney, noting that the seminar will provide guidance for completing grant applications among other strategies.

"Lots of jobs lost in the private sector have been at small businesses and many of these businesses are having issues with capital. Their lives haven't changed but the banks are looking at them differently. We want to show them how they can access money to stay in business or expand, show them what's available in research and development grants."

Tierney said 16 communities in his congressional district are eligible for federal agricultural funding. Two small businesses - D&D Manufacturing in Ipswich and the Seventh Wave restaurant in Rockport - have already benefited from the stimulus act money.

"We're encouraging businesses to attend. There will be several workshops, including a session on green initiatives and smart energy and opportunities to network and make some contacts," Tierney said.

Among the workshops are How to Do Business with the Federal Government; Helping Small Business Start, Grow and Succeed; Doing Business with the State of Massachusetts; and Green Initiatives.

Check-in is at 12:30 p.m. on campus at the Bertolon School of Business, 71 Loring Ave. The seminar will be held from 1-5 p.m. To register, go online to http://tierney.house.gov and follow the links to obtaining an email account for the event, or call Tierney's district office in Peabody at (978) 531-1669.

According to Tierney, small businesses are those with 500 or fewer employees. Given the number of such businesses in the U.S., they collectively should be eligible for approximately 23 percent of the federal recovery funds.

"We have 182 people signed up already and we expect many more," he said.