Ranking Member Edward J. Markey and Senator Mazie Hirono submitted a comment letter to the Small Business Administration on July 17 opposing a proposed rule change to the 8(a) Business Development Program. The senators said the proposed changes would harm underserved small business owners and entrepreneurs.
The 8(a) Business Development Program was established by Congress over fifty years ago to support small business owners who have faced discrimination in starting and operating their businesses. According to Markey and Hirono, “SBA’s proposed rule ignores present-day barriers that entrepreneurs from minority and underserved communities face. Discrimination is not dead; minority entrepreneurs continue to face reduced access to contracting opportunities and capital, as well as racial threats and targeting, including unequal treatment, refusal by others to work with minority-owned firms, being called racial slurs, and bias in the workplace. These barriers lead to wide underutilization of, and less revenue for, minority-owned businesses compared to majority-owned businesses, as supported by decades of disparity studies. The proposed rule diminishes the history of systemic racial and ethnic discrimination in the United States by claiming that remedies for discrimination create discrimination in and of themselves.”
The lawmakers also wrote that “the program has always been open to anyone who can prove they have experienced prejudice or cultural bias in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and other facets of our society.” They said the SBA’s proposal lacks a reasoned basis: “It lacks a reasoned basis, purporting that the federal government has discriminated against White Americans, but offering no substantive qualitative or quantitative data or research in support… The record remains devoid of evidence of discrimination against White individuals on the basis of race.”
In recent months Markey released statements condemning these proposed changes; highlighted reductions in federal contracting dollars awarded to American small businesses; introduced legislation such as the SPARK Act aimed at increasing resources for underserved entrepreneurs; secured funding for entrepreneurial development programs; opposed regulatory changes affecting lending protections; expressed concerns about burdensome documentation requirements from SBA; demanded answers regarding limits on economic opportunity for immigrants; rejected budget proposals cutting entrepreneurial programs; introduced pilot programs supporting formerly incarcerated individuals’ entrepreneurship training; and condemned executive orders rolling back diversity policies.
The Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee supports informed decision-making on national fiscal priorities through comprehensive policy options related to federal budget components. It contributes nonpartisan budgetary analysis via oversight functions established under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, with Lindsey Graham serving as chairman and Jeff Merkley as ranking member according to the official website.