SVOG Alert: SBA Demands Supplemental Documents from Grant Recipients Who Appealed SBA’s Decision to Rescind Their SVOG Grants
In July 2025, we wrote that the Small Business Administration (SBA) had begun issuing letters to recipients of grant funds under the $16.25 Billion COVID-era Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program, rescinding grant recipients’ eligibility for the program and demanding full or partial repayment of the grants years after award. SBA gave grantees 30 days to file an appeal. SBA continued issuing rescission letters to grantees through at least October 2025, including to grantees whose SVOG awards had been fully closed . . . Read More
SBA Strikes Again: New 8(a) Program Suspensions Related to Economic Disadvantage Criteria
On February 11, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration issued a press release announcing that it was initiating termination proceedings and suspending over 150 Washington, D.C.-based 8(a) firms for allegedly failing to meet “economic disadvantage” eligibility criteria for the 8(a) Program. This is a bold move as traditionally proposed terminations are not also coupled with suspensions. And while the press release asserts that these firms “exceeded statutory net worth limits, adjusted gross income caps, or total asset limits,” the notice . . . Read More
Approve First, Ask Questions Later: SBA Targets Planned Parenthood’s PPP Loans
As of May 2024, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) had flagged nearly 38,000 already-forgiven Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans that it suspected borrowers were ineligible for. The SBA has and will continue to exercise its authority to claw-back funds from borrowers who it believes were ineligible. This is highlighted by its latest target, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), who is now under the gun to respond to thirty-eight different requests for information regarding its affiliates’ PPP loan eligibility. In . . . Read More
Matt Feinberg Comments on SBA’s Sweeping 8(a) Suspensions
The Small Business Administration (SBA) confirmed it suspended more than 1,000 contractors this month from the 8(a) Business Development Program, a cornerstone of federal contracting for many small businesses and Native-owned enterprises. The agency said the action followed firms’ failure to submit required records during a program-wide audit. The suspensions represent about one-quarter of the roughly 4,300 companies participating in the 8(a) program, which provides contracting assistance to small businesses designated as socially and economically disadvantaged, including tribally owned enterprises, . . . Read More
SBA Suspends 1,000 8(a) Firms for Not Submitting Data—Federal News Network Quotes PilieroMazza’s Meghan Leemon and Matt Feinberg
The Small Business Administration suspended more than 1,000 companies in the 8(a) program. SBA made the decision after it deemed those small businesses non-compliant with its financial data request from December. . . . Lawyers that represent small businesses say SBA issued the suspensions on Wednesday based on the fact that the 8(a) firms either failed to submit their responses on or before the January 19 deadline or submitted incomplete responses. “At least some firms that submitted complete data call . . . Read More
SBA Issues Suspension Notices to 8(a) Firms Following Data Call
On December 5, 2025, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a program-wide data call (Data Call) to all 8(a) Business Development Program (8(a) Program) participants seeking three years of financial and contractual records. The Data Call was designed to identify fraud, waste, and abuse in the 8(a) Program. Further to that stated goal, following the response deadline of January 19, 2026, SBA swiftly moved to take adverse action against 8(a) firms it deems non-compliant with the Data Call obligations. 8(a) . . . Read More
SBA Data Call: Deadline Extended Until January 19, 2026
SBA announced today, as part of a broader release of FAQs, that the deadline to respond to the December 5, 2025, data call, which we discussed here , has been extended until January 19, 2026. Over and beyond the welcomed extension, SBA has clarified certain of the data call requests. Of note, SBA confirmed that the “last three (3) closed fiscal years of each respective participant” is required. Takeaways from this are: (1) it is the participant’s, not the government’s, fiscal year, . . . Read More
Inside the SBA’s Full-Scale 8(a) Audit: What Participants Need to Know Now
Click here to view the recorded session. In early December, the SBA issued formal data and document requests to all certified 8(a) Business Development Program participants—marking the first major step in the “immediate and full-scale audit” the agency announced in June 2025. These requests are driven largely by recent online media publications attacking the 8(a) Program with allegations of purported (but as-yet unproven) widespread fraud. The scrutiny on the 8(a) Program is intensifying, and 8(a) companies could face collateral damage during . . . Read More
PilieroMazza’s Matt Feinberg Shares Key Impacts of SBA’s 8(a) Audit on Tribally Owned Contractors with Tribal Business News
Matt Feinberg of PilieroMazza recently spoke with and Brian Edwards of Tribal Business News about the SBA’s 8(a) audit and its impact on tribally owned businesses operating in the federal procurement space. Below is the complete article, which also can be accessed through this link . Don’t miss PilieroMazza’s webinar, “ Inside the SBA’s Full-Scale 8(a) Audit: What Participants Need to Know Now ,” scheduled for December 17 at 2 PM ET. ________________________________________ The Small Business Administration’s sweeping audit of its 8(a) Business Development program has left Native-owned companies scrambling to meet a 30-day deadline that advisers . . . Read More