**GAO-08-975T**                      Published: Jul 17, 2008. Publicly Released: Jul 17, 2008.                  

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## Highlights

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone) program provides federal contracting assistance to small firms located in economically distressed areas, with the intent of stimulating economic development. Questions have been raised about whether the program is targeting the locations and businesses that Congress intended to assist. This testimony focuses on (1) the criteria and process that SBA uses to identify and map HUBZone areas; (2) the mechanisms SBA uses to ensure that only eligible small businesses participate in the program; and (3) the actions SBA has taken to assess the results of the program and the extent to which federal agencies have met HUBZone contracting goals. To address these objectives, GAO analyzed statutory provisions as well as SBA, Census, and contracting data and interviewed SBA and other federal and local officials.

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## Topics

Business Regulation and Consumer Protection

ContractsData collectionData integrityEconomic developmentEconomic indicatorsEconomically depressed areasInternal controlsPerformance measuresProgram evaluationProgram managementRisk assessmentRisk managementSmall businessSmall business assistanceSmall business contractsDevelopment assistance programsbusiness relationsProgram goals or objectivesProgram implementation