The Ending Discrimination in Government Contracting Act eliminates federal contracting preference programs for small businesses owned by women, socially and economically disadvantaged individuals, and minorities. The bill removes these protected categories from federal loan programs, contract set-asides, and contracting requirements across the Small Business Act and related federal laws, while maintaining preferences only for HUBZone small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. It also repeals the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 and removes related provisions from other federal statutes including the American Rescue Plan Act and the CARES Act. The legislation broadly prohibits federal agencies and defense contractors from considering the race, ethnicity, or sex of business owners when awarding contracts and requires agencies to revise their rules and guidance within 60 to 180 days to remove all references to these preferences. The changes affect all federal contracting activities and the Small Business Administration's various loan and contracting programs.
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