Shot Across the Bow or a Fatal Strike: New Senate Bill Would End 8(a) and Women-Owned Small Business Preferences

For all its controversy, complications, successes, and failures, the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program (the “8(a) Program”) has served as an access point for socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs to join the federal marketplace for more than 50 years, while the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Federal Contract Program has provided set-aside authority for women business owners since 2011. With the number of small businesses in the industrial base already shrinking, those access points could soon be closed. On April 27, 2026, the Senate received S. 4390, the Ending Discrimination in Government Contracting Act, which would eliminate quotas, mandates, and programs that award government contracts based on the race or sex of a company’s owner. If enacted—and the bill has a companion measure in the House—S. 4390 would effectively delete the statutory foundations of both the 8(a) and WOSB programs. Here’s what contractors need to know.

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