Challenge To 8(A) Business Development Statute Gets Rebuked

On Friday, September 9, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ("D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals") held that the statute creating the Small Business Administration's "8(a) Program" is not unconstitutional. Nevertheless, in addition to being appealed, the ruling creates possibilities for future successful challenges to certain aspects of the 8(a) Program and its administration.

The case, Rothe Dev., Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Def., No. 1:12-cv-00744 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 9, 2016), involved a challenge to the constitutionality of Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act (the "Act"). Rothe claimed that Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act violated its constitutional right to equal protection under the Due Process Clause because Section 8(a) "contains a racial classification that presumes that certain racial minorities are eligible for the program" and there is no such presumption for individuals who are not members of those groups.