Small Business

Status of SBA's 8(a) Minority Business Development Program Gao ID: T-RCED-96-259 September 18, 1996

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) minority business development program provides federal contracts to small businesses that are owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged persons to help these firms become viable, competitive businesses. Over the years, GAO has chronicled the difficulties that SBA has had in implementing congressionally mandated changes to the program. This testimony discusses the status of the following changes: (1) requiring that 8(a) contracts with a large dollar value be awarded competitively, (2) distributing 8(a) contracts so that more firms receive them, (3) ensuring that firms rely less on 8(a) contracts--by increasing their business that does not come through the 8(a) program--as they move through the nine-year program period, and (4) "graduating" from the program firms that have shown that they can survive without 8(a) contracts. GAO also provides information on SBA's denials of firms seeking to enter the program and discusses SBA's efforts to provide management and technical assistance to firms in the program.



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