Department of Defense Sued for Refusing to Release Contract Audits

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 10, 2011

Department of Defense Sued for Refusing to Release Contract Audits

Petaluma, Calif. – On Tuesday, March 8, the American Small Business League (ASBL) filed suit against the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) after the agency refused to release information on recently conducted defense contract audits. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/Complaint_2010Apr20_20KB.pdf)

The ASBL originally requested the most recent contract audit conducted by the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The suit was filed in United States District Court, Northern District of California.

The ASBL believes the requested information may show the Obama Administration has turned a blind eye to a blatant pattern of fraud and abuse, and allowed the continued diversion of billions of dollars a year in federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

Since 2003, a series of federal investigations have uncovered billions of dollars a month in federal contracts intended for small businesses actually going to large businesses. The most recent Obama Administration contracting data shows large recipients of small business contracts such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Dell Computer, Xerox, SAIC, General Dynamics, and John Deere. (www.asbl.com/documents/ASBL_2009_dataanalysis.pdf)

During the 2008 campaign, President Barack Obama made a series of campaign promises with major implications for the middle class. In February of 2008, President Obama promised to “end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants,” and he continues to promise the most transparent administration in U.S. history. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5t8GdxFYBU) To date, President Obama has refused to honor his promise to end widespread abuse in federal small business contracting programs, and has actually reduced transparency.

In early 2010, the Associated Press conducted a review of FOIA reports filed by 17 major agencies, and found across the board increases in the number of rejections. While the federal government as a whole received fewer FOIA requests during the first year of the Obama Administration, agencies increasingly said “no” to requesters looking for public documents. (http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9EFRPJG0)

“Despite his unending rhetoric about the importance of small businesses in America, President Obama is allowing corporate giants to illegally receive billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts. To make matters worse, the Obama Administration is serving as a barrier to transparency and accountability,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said. “People need to quit listening to his speeches and start watching what he does, because this is an anti-small business president. Every small business in America should be concerned about President Obama’s plans for the Small Business Administration (SBA) and federal small business contracting programs.”

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Contact:
Christopher Gunn
Communications Director
American Small Business League
cgunn (at) asbl.com
(707) 789-9575