8(a) Small Business Integrity and Stability Act of 2026

The **8(a) Small Business Integrity and Stability Act of 2026** (H.R. 10071) requires the Small Business Administration (SBA) to extend participation timeframes, reinstate certain small businesses, and freeze specific regulatory standards for participants in the SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program.

* **Small business participants in the 8(a) Program:** Specifically those enrolled in the program between January 20, 2025, and September 30, 2026. * **Businesses terminated or withdrawn from the program:** Businesses terminated for failing to respond to a specific Office of Management and Budget (OMB) information request (Control Number 3245-0430, concluded November 18, 2025), or businesses that voluntarily withdrew between January 19, 2026, and October 1, 2026. * **Socially disadvantaged participants:** Businesses formally recognized by the SBA as socially disadvantaged on or before June 11, 2026. * **The SBA Administrator:** The agency head responsible for issuing implementation rules and following strict deadlines under penalty of travel funding restrictions.

* **Mandatory 1-Year Program Extension:** Starting 75 days after the bill becomes law, the SBA must grant a 1-year extension to qualifying small businesses that participated in the 8(a) Program between January 20, 2025, and September 30, 2026. * **Reinstatement for Specific Former Participants:** The SBA must restore program status to businesses that voluntarily withdrew or were terminated due to the specified OMB information request, treating them as if they were never removed. Once reinstated, these businesses may choose whether to accept an additional 1-year program extension. * **Regulatory Stability for Social Disadvantage Status:** For businesses determined to be socially disadvantaged on or before June 11, 2026, the SBA must continue to apply the version of the regulations (13 CFR 124.103(c)) that was in effect on June 11, 2026, for any future decisions regarding their continued program participation. * **Deadlines and Rulemaking:** The SBA Administrator must issue implementation rules within 15 days of enactment, following standard public notice and comment procedures. These rules must align with past program extensions enacted under the FY2021 National Defense Authorization Act and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.

* **Direct Funding:** The bill does not authorize new program spending, taxes, or fees. * **Travel Spending Penalty:** If the SBA Administrator fails to submit a final implementation rule within 75 days of enactment, the Administrator is legally prohibited from spending any funds on official travel until the final rule is submitted.

* **Declining an Extension:** Small businesses eligible for the mandatory 1-year extension may explicitly choose to decline it. * **Reinstatement Exception:** Businesses are ineligible for reinstatement if their termination was formally upheld by the SBA Office of Hearings and Appeals. * **Unclear Details:** Specific procedural details of the past extension precedents referenced in the text (the FY2021 NDAA and Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021) are not detailed in the bill summary.

This bill automatically gives many 8(a) small businesses an extra year in the development program, lets certain previously dropped or withdrawn businesses rejoin, locks in the rules used to measure social disadvantage for current participants, and blocks the SBA Administrator from spending official travel money if agency implementation rules are delayed.