Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunity Condemns Trump’s Assault on SBA’s 8(a) Program
Washington, DC—The Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunity (CEO) opposes the current attacks on the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program. These actions recently culminated in the suspension of 1,091 businesses, effectively sidelining a quarter of all program participants. While the Administration cites concerns over waste, fraud, and abuse to justify this move, the sweeping nature of these suspensions is a disproportionate response that ignores the program’s long-standing success. For over 45 years, the 8(a) Program has helped underserved small businesses succeed in the federal marketplace and beyond through one-on-one counseling, training workshops, and technical guidance.
Undermining the 8(a) Program at this massive scale weakens an essential resource for expanding economic opportunity and supporting underserved entrepreneurs. Today, the program is in a fight for its life because of targeted attacks that threaten to dismantle a proven path for small businesses, while leaving them with little recourse to protect their livelihoods. Sidelining these firms does more than harm individual owners—it stifles job creation and undercuts the broader American economy by removing the very businesses that drive innovation and growth.
CEO is a joint venture between the National Urban League and the think tank Third Way aimed at dramatically increasing the opportunity for all disadvantaged entrepreneurs to start and expand successful businesses.