In June, the conservative majority on the Supreme Court ruled against college affirmative-action programs — but that decision might also put billions of dollars in government contracting at risk.
The 6-to-3 decision severely curtailed affirmative action, saying treating people based on their race specifically violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
In 2022, the federal government awarded roughly $169.2 billion in contracts to small businesses, with nearly $70 billion going specifically to small disadvantaged businesses, owned by someone who has “been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias within American society because of their identities as members of groups and without regard to their individual qualities.”
Experts say those sorts of government set-asides might not pass muster with a conservative Supreme Court. That includes the SBA’s 8(a) business-development program, to which the federal government directs at least 5% of its contract spending each year.
Read the full story on the St. Louis Business Journal website.
