Why It Matters
The Native American Contractors Association is lobbying on S. 991 and H.R. 3485, which remained in committee through September. Both bills would remove an in-state office requirement for certain construction contractors in the Small Business Administration’s 8(a) Business Development Program.
By the Numbers
The association’s Oct. 22 lobbying disclosure amendment reported $105,000 in third-quarter in-house expenses, down from $170,000 in the second quarter and up from $40,000 in the third quarter of 2025. The amendment replaces the association’s original in-house report for the quarter, rather than adding to it.
Outside firm Checkmate Government Relations LLC reported $90,000, while Ragnar Group LLC reported $20,000 in a termination report. Across all registrants, the association’s third-quarter total was $215,000, compared with $280,000 in the second quarter and $50,000 in the third quarter of 2025.
The amendment names two in-house lobbyists: Josh Jackson, senior manager for government relations and a former House staffer, and Quinton Carroll, executive director and a former Senate staffer.
Broader Context
The Small Business Administration’s pandemic-era moratorium on enforcing the office requirement expired on Oct. 1, 2025. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), a Senate bill sponsor, and the association have supported removing the requirement; Sullivan has argued it presents a barrier to small contractors working across state lines.
The association also sought funding for the agency’s Office of Native American Affairs and lobbied on legislation to make the office permanent. A quarter one 2025 disclosure filing says the legislation it calls the Native American Entrepreneurial Act had not been introduced in the 119th Congress.
Separately, the House passed the Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act on June 23, a bill addressing the same office but not named in the amendment. The association’s co-chairs praised the bill, saying it would advance the Office of Native American Affairs with stability and bolster economic development in Native communities.
The association also lobbied to extend the Buy Indian Act to the Department of Agriculture.
The Bottom Line
The construction-contract bills await action in the House Small Business Committee and the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. The in-house team listed in the amendment is smaller than the one named in the prior quarter.
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