Three large Alaska Native regional corporations are proposing changes to the government contracting program at the Small Business Administration.

Cook Inlet Region Inc., Doyon Ltd. and Arctic Slope Regional Corp. are among the biggest players in the 8(a) minority contracting program. They say reforms are needed to preserve it for future generations.

"To reform it is to save it," CIRI CEO Margie Brown told The Anchorage Daily News.

The corporations' proposal, called STRENGTHENING THE 8(a) PROGRAM: The Agenda for Transparency, Accountability and Integrity, includes a cap of $100 million for no-bid contracts. The idea has been rejected by the National 8(a) Association and the Native American Contractors Association.

"They all have had a bite at the apple. Why would you do this to everyone else?" said Ron Perry, the president of the National 8(a) Association, told the Daily News. Perry is also a CIRI shareholder.

Get the Story:
Native corporations propose reforms in federal contracting (The Anchorage Daily News 10/4)
Candidates share opinions on Native contracts (The Anchorage Daily News 10/4)