If War Secretary Pete Hegseth wants to wage war against waste, fraud, and abuse, he has my respect. If he wants to put an end to diversity, equity, and exclusion (DEI), he has my admiration. If, for example, he wants to overhaul the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 8(a) Business Development Program, he has my qualified support—provided he wages a just war, not an unnecessary or unwinnable one, which avoids the kind of collateral damage that would destroy a red state like Alaska. As Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs) are critical to the state’s economy and rely heavily on the 8(a) program, suspending this would be a waste. As ANCs are also critical to the U.S. economy and national defense, ending the 8(a) program would be a disaster.
ANCs occupy the top 10 spots in Alaska’s corporate rankings, with cumulative revenues exceeding $10.5 billion. As “homegrown engines of the economy,” ANCs employ more than 15,000 people in Alaska with a combined statewide payroll exceeding $950 million. They also generate over $6 billion in economic activity. In Fairbanks alone, ANCs generate a total employment impact of over 4,700 jobs, representing 12 percent of all civilian employment in the area.
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