ANCs Hit Back--Hard

By Robert Brodsky

Alaska Native Corporations are not going out without a fight.

On Thursday, the Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, led by Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., will hold a hearing examining the government's contracting policies toward Alaska Native Corporations. Leaders in the ANC community, as well as officials from the Defense Department and Small Business Administration are expected to testify at the hearing, which could eventually lead to significant changes in the contracting preferences afforded to the corporations.

But on Monday, ANCs launched a forceful defense of their programs and landed a pre-emptive strike against the objectivity of the hearings. A group of Native American tribes, organizations and businesses have formed Native8aWorks, a coalition to "educate Congress on the successful Native participation in the in the Small Business Administration's 8(a) Business Development Program." The group's new Web site also professes to "set the record straight and be a reminder of the trust relationship between the United States and its indigenous peoples."

Native8aWorks also does not hold back on its feelings toward the upcoming hearing.

"The current McCaskill inquiry is a blatant attempt to discredit a federal economic development policy that actually works! Enough is enough," the site says. "This 21st century witch hunt is misguided and will cause a roadblock to job creation for Americans during dire economic times."

These are strong words indeed. This hearing should be a doozy . We'll have a preview later this week.