8(a) Business Development Program Regulation Changes; Tribal Consultation

On February 11, 2011, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA or Agency) published a final rule in the Federal Register making changes to the regulations governing the section 8(a) Business Development (BD) program. SBA announces that it is holding tribal consultation meetings in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Anchorage, Alaska to discuss the recent changes to the 8(a) BD program regulations, specifically to take comments on the mandatory reporting of community benefits provision scheduled to take effect on September 9, 2011, unless SBA further delays implementation through publication in the Federal Register. Testimony presented at these tribal consultation meetings will become part of the administrative record for SBA's consideration when the Agency deliberates on approaches to tracking community benefits.