Takai Legislation Passes House

Statement

Today, Congressman Mark Takai (HI-01) discussed yesterday's passage of one of the first pieces of legislation he introduced since coming to Congress. Takai's bill, H.R. 2950, which grants Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) Eligibility to Native Hawaiian Organizations (NHOs), was included in the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

"The granting of HUBZone status to Native Hawaiian Organizations will increase economic opportunities for both the Native Hawaiian community and Hawaii's business community as a whole. I worked hard to ensure that this amendment passed and look forward to the added economic growth in our state," Takai said.

Earlier this year, Congressman Takai introduced H.R. 2950, the Small Business Contracting Clarity Act. After becoming the Ranking Member on the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and the Workforce, Takai worked with other Members of both the Small Business Committee and House Armed Services Committee to craft a strategy for inclusion of the provision in the 2016 NDAA.

"I would like to thank the Members who worked with me on granting NHOs parity with other federally-recognized groups under the 8(a) program. This is an issue of fairness and parity, and I will continue to work towards ensuring that Native Hawaiian owned businesses have the same critical support that others in the same program do," Takai added.

The HUBZone program promotes economic development and employment growth in distressed areas by providing more access to federal contracting opportunities. This program was enacted as part of the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997.

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