Authored by Kimberley Hayek via The Epoch Times,The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has suspended more than 1,000 companies from a key federal contracting program aimed at aiding disadvantaged businesses, after the firms failed to submit required financial documents, the agency announced Wednesday. The SBA said it barred 1,091 firms from the 8(a) Business Development Program, which represents about 25 percent of the roughly 4,300 participants. The 8(a) program, which sets aside billions in federal contracts annually, has faced scrutiny over allegations of favoritism and misuse. The December document request was issued to all 8(a) firms as part of the effort to combat abuse by illegitimate entities. “We are taking a sledgehammer to the oldest DEI program in the federal government—the 8(a) program,” War Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X.