Alaska Companies Are Top “Small” Contractors Seven of the eleven largest recipients of small business contracts in 2006 are Alaska Native Corporations, according to an analysis by Eagle Eye Publishing. Some of the largest corporations were listed as receiving contracts categorized as “small business.” Eagle Eye used the government’s Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation to identify the contracts. Alaska Native Corporations are eligible for 8(a) small business status regardless of their size. Several ANCs operate multiple subsidiaries. Eagle Eye found 67 companies each received at least $100 million in small business contracts last year. Among them were General Dynamics, in sixteenth place, and Lockheed Martin, 49th. SBA officials have said those anomalies occur when a large business acquires a small one or through data-entry errors. Bush administration officials say they are taking steps to improve the accuracy of the official procurement database, such as by requiring companies to recertify their small business eligibility after a merger. The leading small business contractors, with contract amounts in millions: •Chugach Alaska Corp. (ANC), $643.7. •L-3 Communications, $612.3. •NANA Regional Corp. (ANC), $478.6 •Engineered Support Systems Inc., $430.5. The company is a unit of DRS Technologies, according to DRS’s website. •SAIC, $409.6. •Afognak Native Corp. (ANC), $380.6. •NJVC LLC (ANC), $369.4. NJVC is a joint venture of two Alaska Native Corporations, Chenega Technology Services Corporation and ASRC Communications Ltd. The parent of ASRC Communications is Arctic Slope Regional Corp. •FSS Alutiiq JV (ANC), $340.3. •Chenega Corp. (ANC), $333.0. •Datapath Inc., $331.4. Datapath, of Atlanta, is a satellite communications provider. •Arctic Slope Regional Corp. (ANC), $325.3. At a congressional hearing last year, several small business advocates and members of Congress said the tribally owned Alaska corporations should not be eligible for 8(a) contracts. But the ANCs have powerful defenders in their senior members of Congress, Republican Sen. Ted Stevens and Republican Rep. Don Young. Executives of the Alaska companies argued that their procurement preferences are justified because part of their profits go to native communities. (SAA, 6/30/06)