
Speaker C
55:16 - 55:52
"When we began this fight, it was centered around fraud, waste, and abuse. So there were some articles and some media out there that kind of was a gotcha moment to contractors out there that supposedly were performing fraud, waste, and abuse and not applying the rules of the program correctly. And so that created a big splash that, oh, 8 is just riddled with fraud, waste, and abuse, and we need to get rid of that program."
“When we began this fight, it was centered around fraud, waste, and abuse. So there were some articles and some media out there that kind of was a gotcha moment to contractors out there that supposedly were performing fraud, waste, and abuse and not applying the rules of the program correctly. And so that created a big splash that, oh, 8 is just riddled with fraud, waste, and abuse, and we need to get rid of that program.”
I can speak to the first one and maybe you can chime in as well. I think when we began this fight, it was centered around fraud, waste, and abuse. So there were some articles and some media out there that kind of was a gotcha moment to contractors out there that supposedly were performing fraud, waste, and abuse and not applying the rules of the program correctly. And so that created a big splash that, oh, 8 is just riddled with fraud, waste, and abuse, and we need to get rid of that program. So that's one of the drivers.
A freeze on new applications to the federal 8(a) contracting program threatens future revenue for Alaska Native corporations that generated $9 billion in federal work in 2022 and returned $300 million to shareholders last year.

The Small Business Administration has stopped processing new 8(a) applications for Alaska Native corporation subsidiaries, blocking future contracting access as the administration reviews federal procurement practices.
