School of Economics Professor, Thomas D. Boston, delivered two rounds of testimony in September before separate House and Senate Committees.

On September 11, 2008, Boston spoke to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship chaired by Sen. John Kerry. The hearing focused on Business Start-up Hurdles in Underserved Communities: Access to Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship Training.

Boston s remarks focused on the important contribution to the U.S. economy made by businesses that participate in the government s Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) program and put forth recommendations for adjusting the program to allow minority firms to move to the next level of growth. His testimony concluded, This committee could facilitate a tremendous leap forward for minority firms in gaining access to capital, bonding and venture capital funding if it would simply make adjustments to one of the federal government's own regulations. By this I mean altering the [sic: $750,000] personal net worth ceiling that is used as criteria for eligibility in the SDB program.

On September 24, Dr. Boston, delivered similar testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Subcommittee on Information Policy, Census, and National Archives. That discussion centered on how information policy affects competitive viability in minority contracting. Boston made recommendations for replacing the personal net worth ceiling with more industry specific and business development criteria.