{"id":11979,"date":"2022-07-18T19:48:57","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T19:48:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T04:32:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T04:32:48","slug":"hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/","title":{"rendered":"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The federal HUBZone program has failed to meet a small-business contracting goal for more than two decades, and a House committee convened a meeting of legislators and business leaders to figure out why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The HUBZone program<\/a> created by Congress in 1997 and overseen by the Small Business Administration, supports entrepreneurs in historically disadvantaged areas with a goal of awarding at least 3% of federal contract dollars to certified companies each year. In 2020, that would\u2019ve amounted to roughly $20 billion out of $682 billion total contracting dollars. In reality, only $13.6 billion<\/a> in HUBZone prime contracts and $4.2 billion in subcontracts were awarded that year. The closest it ever came to meeting this goal was in 2009 at 2.81%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe program was intended to provide small businesses in economically distressed areas with greater access to federal employment and procurement opportunities,\u201d said Rep. Kweisi Mfume<\/a>, chairman of the House Small Business Committee\u2019s Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure. \u201cThis undoubtedly was a worthy goal, but it still remains, unfortunately, a goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small business contracts create jobs, buoy local economies and supplement the government\u2019s stream of resources to maintain its services, panelists said. In support of these goals, HUBZone gives burgeoning firms advantages designed to lower the barrier to entering federal contracting, yet panelists said the program is underutilized, partly because it competes with other less cumbersome programs. President Joe Biden vowed to increase<\/a> the share of contracts awarded to small disadvantaged businesses to 15% by 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2018 blog post announcing proposed changes<\/a> to make HUBZone more accessible, the SBA acknowledged that \u201ccompliance is often difficult to achieve and maintain and can change almost without warning.\u201d That unpredictability threatens the confidence of the government buyer to use the program, it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI mean, it\u2019s been 20 years. Do we throw the whole thing out and start over again?\u201d Mfume said. \u201cOr do we admit that there are some real serious issues that this committee ought to be looking to try to find a way to enhance the program and participation?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Committee members vouch for HUBZone use<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

As part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act, HUBZone can be an invigorating economic catalyst, translating to thousands of jobs, said Rep. Pete Stauber, a Republican from Minnesota, at the panel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The program offers set asides<\/a>, in which competition is restricted exclusively to HUBZone firms. It also allows eligible contracts to be awarded without competition and offers a price preference during full and open competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\u00e9s Rivas-Hutchins founded Kentucky-based INTEC Group, LLC., <\/a>classified as an Economically Disadvantaged Women-Owned Small Business. She became HUBZone certified because a contract opportunity was set aside as such.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said set asides entice businesses to become certified, which in turn will produce more HUBZone opportunities. Rivas-Hutchins added that this certification accounts for more than half of her company\u2019s revenue and allows her to open doors for local talent amid labor shortages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHUBZone ensures there\u2019s an incentive for educated and talented workers to stay in Kentucky,\u201d she said. \u201cWe want them there, where they grew up, and not having to move to big cities to chase work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At least 35% of employees must reside in a HUBZone for a company to qualify, thereby investing in whole communities, said Matthew Schoonover, a Kansas-based lawyer representing small-business issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is HUBZone being overshadowed by other programs?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

More than 22,000 communities across the country are designated HUBZones, however Schoonover and others said the program\u2019s shortcomings hinder its potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More than half of all prime contracts awarded to HUBZone firms were \u201cnot awarded because of the HUBZone designation, but because the firm qualified for another small business preference,\u201d according to a meeting memo.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, in fiscal 2020, 2.44% was awarded to HUBZone firms in prime contracts, and even that number is likely to be inflated. Because these awards may have been double counted among other similar programs, \u201cthe number of true HUBZone contracts is certainly lower,\u201d Schoonover said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHad the government met its goal, these areas in dire need of economic development would\u2019ve received billions of dollars more in investment,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schoonover made a few recommendations, including urging Congress to require that a specific agency, like the Departments of Commerce or Housing and Urban Development, prioritize HUBZone contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI tend to think still that the biggest problem with the HUBZone program is that not enough awards are made under it,\u201d said Schoonover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others said more education is needed to recruit participants. Schoonover said that companies may not see the value in getting certified, given the the time and expense that it takes to comply and to maintain certification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brent Lillard, CEO & co-founder of GovSmart, Inc., said the HUBZone program is overshadowed by the SBA 8(a) program, <\/a>which aids firms that are at least 51% owned and operated by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lillard said it\u2019s easier for contracting offers to use the 8(a) program, which also moves more quickly because awards cannot be protested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Committee discussions were intended, in part, to determine what additional reforms are needed based on participants\u2019 feedback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last July, the SBA announced <\/a>that the federal government exceeded its overall small business federal contracting goal, awarding about 26 percent to small businesses, a $13 billion increase from the previous fiscal year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":37603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-post-featured-layout","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":60,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[60,12,31],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3269],"class_list":["post-11979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contracting","category-govcon","category-home"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"YM2SEMXONBB5PCJFTYYBZJ7FNE","arc_canonical_url":"\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"featured-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nHUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation - Federal Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Federal Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-18T19:48:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T04:32:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Molly Weisner\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly Weisner\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-07-18T19:48:57+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:32:48+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 891,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Contracting\",\n\t \"GovCon\",\n\t \"Home\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation - Federal Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2022-07-18T19:48:57+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T04:32:48+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/2022\\\/07\\\/18\\\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Contracting\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/govcon\\\/contracting\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"contracting\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Federal Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/federal-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Federal Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/federaltimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation - Federal Times","description":"Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation","og_description":"Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/","og_site_name":"Federal Times","article_published_time":"2022-07-18T19:48:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T04:32:48+00:00","author":"Molly Weisner","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Molly Weisner","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation","datePublished":"2022-07-18T19:48:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:32:48+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/"},"wordCount":891,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Contracting","GovCon","Home"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/","name":"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation - Federal Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2022-07-18T19:48:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T04:32:48+00:00","description":"Meanwhile, the number of participants in the program has almost halved to 4,870 from more than 8,500 a decade ago.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/2022\/07\/18\/hubzone-awards-keep-missing-federal-contract-goals-a-quarter-century-after-creation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Contracting","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/govcon\/contracting\/","ad_zone":"contracting"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"HUBZone awards keep missing federal contract goals a quarter-century after creation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","name":"Federal Times","description":"Federal Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#organization","name":"Federal Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/federal-logo-white.png","caption":"Federal Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Federal Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-628509322-RESIZED.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11979","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11979"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11985,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11979\/revisions\/11985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11979"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=11979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}