Don't let political rhetoric obscure what the 8(a) program actually does

Policy conversations in Washington often overlook practical realities and benefits in favor of sensationalized narratives. This dynamic is playing out in real time in the discussion about the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) business development program, which critics are falsely characterizing as a "preference without performance" initiative.

Policy debates should be grounded by facts. That’s why it is important to set the record straight about the 8(a) program, its benefits to the federal government and Alaska, and the significant risks of allowing mischaracterizations about the program to guide regulatory decision-making.

The 8(a) program is a competitive, proven procurement tool that supports critical national security missions and drives economic growth in communities across the country. Under the program’s auspices, certified contractors routinely bid against one another for federal awards.

This model works – and we have the data to prove it. Non-8(a) procurements of $50 million or more take more than 255 days on average to complete. But 8(a) directed awards reduce the federal procurement cycle by up to 85%, putting vital capabilities into the field in weeks, rather than months.

Continued achievement under the 8(a) program, not designation, is what drives contract renewal. Many program participants including Alaska Native Corporations, which were established by Congress under the 1971 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA), are among the highest graded companies for contractual efficacy and performance according to the federal government’s scoring rubric.

The Trump administration has recognized the 8(a) program’s value and the role that contractors like ANCs play in improving federal operations. Together, we’re working to enhance federal efficiency and ensure taxpayer dollars achieve maximum effect.

ANCs are private, for-profit entities that are owned and controlled by their respective Alaska Native shareholders. In 1992, Congress voted on a bipartisan basis to offset the limitations of ANCSA – including the limited utility of lands conveyed to Indigenous tribes – by including ANCs in the 8(a) program. This milestone empowered ANCs to innovate private sector solutions to national challenges while strengthening Alaska Native communities and our state’s broader economy.

These unique corporations are economic importers in Alaska, and participation in the 8(a) program has helped to drive impacts that are equally profound for the state as they are for the federal government.

In 2022 alone, ANCs generated $13.5 billion in total revenue and $6.1 billion in statewide economic activity. They also generated over 8,000 direct jobs and more than 15,000 downstream and affiliated jobs that same year.

Hard economic statistics tell only half of the story when it comes to ANCs impact on Alaska communities, particularly its Alaska Native shareholders. Since their inception, these corporations have awarded over $173.9 million in scholarship funding. They’ve also provided millions in cash and in-kind donations to strengthen our Indigenous culture and ensure that the traditions forming the bedrock of our identity are passed on to the next generation.

Participation in the 8(a) program helps make all of this possible. For me, this connection is personal – I’ve experienced these benefits firsthand.

I grew up in a small village in Alaska’s interior that had fewer than 600 year-round residents. Over the years, my hometown, like many rural Alaska communities, has dwindled due to severe economic out-migration. Good educational opportunities and well-paying jobs can be difficult to find in communities like mine.

ANCs work to address this issue. Because Congress had the foresight to integrate ANCs into the 8(a) program as an economic development mechanism, regional corporations, village corporations, and tribes have more financial resources to invest in future next generations.

Thanks to this downstream economic activity, I was able to attend undergraduate school and later earn my law degree from the University of Washington. My education was funded in part by those very ANC shareholder scholarships.

But my story isn't unique: it’s part of a much larger legacy of Indigenous success fueled in part by ANC economic success. Across Alaska, more than 81,000 of these scholarships have been awarded to Indigenous students like me.

My trajectory, and the trajectories of thousands of other Alaska Native leaders, simply would not have been possible without ANCs’ economic strength, part of which comes from participation in the 8(a) program.

But these federal and state-level impacts are omitted from policy conversations about the 8(a) program in Washington. Instead of following misguided claims that the 8(a) program is a preferential program that doesn’t benefit America or its communities, lawmakers must course correct. The 8(a) program is vital, and its policymaking process should be guided by quantifiable ground truths about its impact.

To do otherwise would be to misunderstand both the law, 8(a)’s benefits to the federal government, and the experience of Alaska Native peoples like me.

It’s time to move past the political rhetoric around 8(a) and understand its undeniable impact on America and Alaska. It is a proven, battle-tested system in which the results speak for themselves.

Nicole Borromeo serves as the President of the ANCSA Regional Association (ARA), which works to promote the growth and economic strength of Alaska Native regional corporations.