Last month, in Rothe Development, Inc. v. Department of Defense, the D.C. Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the Small Business Administration (“SBA”) 8(a) program by rejecting arguments that the Small Business Act contains an unconstitutional classification based on race. 

The goal of the SBA’s 8(a) program is to expand government contracting opportunities to small business owners. Under the Small Business Act, the SBA enters into contracts with other federal agencies, which the SBA then subcontracts to eligible small businesses to compete for subcontracts in a sheltered market.  Businesses owned by “socially and economically disadvantaged” individuals are eligible to participate in the 8(a) program.

Per the statute, socially disadvantaged individuals are those “who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their individual qualities.”

Keep reading this article at: https://www.insidegovernmentcontracts.com/2016/09/d-c-circuit-upholds-constitutionality-sbas-8a-program/