 May 03, 2003
Murkowski's bill, which allows the Small Business Administration to consider Ketchikan as a "difficult development area" - a special definition that allows an area to gain HUBzone contracting benefits - is needed since Ketchikan has been denied HUBzone status based on standard qualifications because of a statistical quirk. "Ketchikan is a community that was highly dependent on the timber industry, which has been shut down as a result of changes in federal policies. The town's employment is now highly seasonal, the unemployment rate dropping only during the short summer tourism season. This town is certainly the type of community whose businesses were intended to benefit from federal contracting assistance. It is a true inequity that Ketchikan is being denied such assistance," said Murkowski. She explained that Ketchikan meets all criteria for HUBzone classification, except its summertime unemployment rate is not always 140 percent of the statewide average. Because the SBA uses the annual average unemployment rate for purposes of determining community qualifications, the town has been denied participation in the federal contracting program. "Ketchikan routinely exceeds
the statewide unemployment rate, but has been denied participation
in the program simply because of the influx of out-of-area workers
that flock to Ketchikan in summer to work in the tourism industry.
These workers then leave to file for unemployment elsewhere.
As a result the town's economy is desperate for stimulus for
the next nine months. This change might represent a minor expansion
of the HUB program nationally, but it will have a significant
affect on the people and businesses of Ketchikan," said
Murkowski in introducing the measure.
Source of News Release
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