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ARTICLE · 19 NOVEMBER 2025

Preference-Based Contract Awards Face Scrutiny From Treasury And SBA

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On Nov. 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a comprehensive audit of preference-based contracting programs, covering roughly $9 billion in awards across its bureaus.

United StatesGovernment, Public Sector
Jordan Malone
Jordan Malone
Eleanor M. Ross
Eleanor M. Ross
Cassidy Kim
Cassidy Kim
Olivia Bellini
Olivia Bellini

On Nov. 6, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced a comprehensive audit of preference-based contracting programs, covering roughly $9 billion in awards across its bureaus. The review targets potential misuse of federal set-aside programs, including the Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) Business Development (BD) Program, following allegations of fraudulent practices. The Treasury also instructed its acquisition workforce to impose new compliance mechanisms on all service contracts—namely, detailed staffing plans and monthly workforce performance reports—to identify non-performance and potential pass-through arrangements.

This move comes after the SBA launched its own full-scale audit of the 8(a) BD Program earlier this year. The SBA intends to review contracts across all agencies from the past 15 years, beginning with high-dollar and limited-competition contracts. In parallel, the Treasury will review its contracts awarded

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