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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri has introduced a bill her office says would curb waste and abuse by stripping Alaska Native corporations of advantages they enjoy in obtaining federal contracts.
The legislation, introduced by the Democrat on Wednesday, calls for changes including eliminating the ability of the corporations to obtain contracts with no monetary caps or competition under the Small Business Administration's 8(a) program, which is designed to help small disadvantaged firms. The corporations would still be able to participate in the SBA program. But they would have to qualify under the same rules as other participants, such as being designated as socially disadvantaged business enterprises and managed by equally disadvantaged individuals. A coalition of Native corporations said McCaskill's bill is misguided. Her actions show "a clear lack of understanding of federal Indian policies and deliberate ignorance of the benefits Alaska Native shareholders, their descendants and families receive because of the program," said Jana Turvey, vice president of corporate affairs for Kodiak-based Afognak Native Corp.