WASHINGTON, D.C. – As some on
Capitol Hill single out and challenge Alaska Native Corporations’ participation
in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) program, Senator Lisa Murkowski
lashed back in a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. “My
colleagues want to measure the Indian 8(a) program with a spreadsheet, but bean
counters can’t measure self-sufficiency or innovation.”
The Alaska Native Corporations
are exempted from a contract cap and automatically classified as
“disadvantaged,” a label criticized during the hearing based on income
data. “When some of my colleagues are dismissive about Alaska Natives
being categorized ‘disadvantaged,’” Murkowski observed, “they must realize
we’re talking about a population, many times, without a road system or water
supply system and not just a lump average income statistic.”
The Small Business Administration
made a number of revisions to 8(a) programs last month – at the request of
ANCs, Native American and Hawaiian groups – tightening many of the reporting
requirements and raising the accountability standards.
“The 8(a) reforms have just been
put into place, with a new standard for stronger business practices. What the
Alaska Native Corporations and the 8(a) community deserve now isn’t a DC
crackdown, but time for the improvements to take root.”
Panelists included Alaska
Federation of Natives President Julie Kitka, National Congress of American
Indians Executive Director Jackie Johnson-Pata, Coeur d’Alene Tribe Chief James
Allen and representatives from the Small Business Administration.
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