SBA suspends 1,000 8(a) contractors for missing data submission deadline

With little fanfare, the Small Business Administration has suspended at least 1,000 contractors from the 8(a) program because they failed to submit data that SBA requested a month earlier.

SBA said in December that it sent letters to all 4,300 8(a) companies asking for three years' worth of financial documents, including bank statements, financial statements, general ledgers, payroll registers, contracting and subcontracting agreements, and employment records.

The agency gave companies a Jan. 5 deadline for submitting the records.

“Firms that fail to comply by January 5, 2026, may lose their eligibility to participate in in the 8(a) program and could face further investigative and remedial actions,” SBA said at the time.

SBA made this data call as part of its ongoing audit of the 8(a) program to root out potential fraud and roll back what the Trump administration sees as unlawful diversity, equity and inclusion practices.

According to a report by the Schooner+Moriarty law firm, SBA's notice to the suspended contractors said the portal for submitting data will remain open until Feb. 19.

But it is unclear whether submitting their data by then will result in SBA lifting their suspension.

“This is not explicitly said and should be assumed,” the law firm wrote.

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