In post-affirmative action era, billions in federal contracts for small business are targeted

The federal government awarded $69.9 billion, or 11.38%, of federal prime contracting dollars to small disadvantaged businesses in fiscal year 2022.

The Small Business Administration's federal contracting program for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses wasn't a direct target of the U.S. Supreme Court decision earlier this year to effectively end race-conscious admission programs at colleges and universities. But it helped buoy the legal attacks against the SBA program, and more changes could be on the way due to ongoing litigation.

The 8 program is designed to help socially and economically disadvantaged small business owners expand their footprint in the federal marketplace through training and contract support.

The application now includes a plain language, fillable questionnaire that offers owners the opportunity to describe their social disadvantage. There are a handful or so of questions to guide owners, prompting them to describe what happened and how it affected their ability to start or expand their business, among other things.that an individual should typically provide two incidents of bias to establish chronic and substantial social disadvantage.

The extra time for the application will depend on the individual, but the guided questionnaire format can help people without the need to write their own narrative, attorneys said.Aside from the social disadvantage aspect, businesses applying for the first time to the program have to show their economic disadvantage through personal net worth, adjusted gross income and assets, said Jayna Marie Rust, a partner with Thompson Coburn who regularly works with 8 program participants.

Small businesses should be aware that the SBA may ask for further detail based on the answers they provide, said Zachary Schroeder, an attorney in the government contracts group at Crowell & Moring. It may not be"a one-and-done situation," he said.

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