Group argues for shielding contractors' revenue, employee counts

This article came out today and discusses access to data fields on the Central Contractor Registration. In a comment to the Small Business Administration, responding to a FOIA request to have 44 items removed from the exempt list of CCR fields; the Professional Services Council, an Arlington, Va., group representing government service contractors annual revenue opposed the removal of exempt status and promoted the addition of several other fields including a company's number of employees and a company-specific identification code.

The removal of such fields would make it harder than it already is to determine which companies in the CCR are small and furthermore, which large companies are obtaining small business contracts. We promote the publishing of a majority of the exempt fields including average revenue, number of employee statistics and NAICS codes along with additional fields that would designate status as a parent company or a subsidiary and to which companies.

Here is the link to the article:

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0607/061407m1.htm

New SBA Policy Lets Miscoded Small Business Contracts Continue Until 2012

Petaluma, Calif.- On June 30th a new Small Business Administration policy is set to take effect that has outraged small business owners across the country. The new SBA five-year re-certification/grandfathering policy will allow the SBA to include billions of dollars in federal contracts to Fortune 1000 firms towards the federal government’s 23 percent small business contracting goal until the year 2012.

As early as 2002, federal investigations began to find that the SBA had reported contracts to hundreds of Fortune 1000 firms as small business awards. Two investigations by the SBA Office of Advocacy and the SBA Office of Inspector General found in many cases large businesses had received federal small business contracts fraudulently. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/05-16.pdf)

The SBA responded to the charges by saying the contracts to the large businesses had been "miscoded" as small business contracts. (http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=393) The new five-year re-certification/grandfathering policy will allow the SBA to continue to include the "miscoded" small business contracts to Fortune 1000 firms in their small business contracting statistics until the year 2012.

Beginning in 2003, the Office of Federal Procurement policy and the SBA Office of Inspector General called for a plan to remove Fortune 1000 firms and other large businesses from the government's small business contracting programs. (http://www.washingtontechnology.com/print/17_22/20148-1.html) The SBA never implemented the policies, and they continued to include billions of dollars in contracts to Fortune 1000 firms and other large business in the United States and Europe towards the government's 23 percent small business goal.
SBA critics point out that if the new five-year re-certification/grandfathering policy is allowed to stand, legitimate small business could lose between $200 and $300 billion in federal small business contracts over the next five years.

Small business owners and advocates were hoping Congress would step in and pass legislation to stop the SBA policy from taking effect. To date, no legislation has been passed to stop the SBA policy or halt the flow of federal small business contracts to large businesses.

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ASBL - Small Businesses Fight For the Removal of All Fortune 1000 Corporations from Small Business Contracting

We have been making dramatic progress in recent weeks towards the removal of Fortune 1000 corporations and their subsidiaries from America's small business contracting program, but we need to keep pressing the senate to include a provision in the Senate modification of H.R. 1873 that would call for the removal of all Fortune 1000 corporations from federal small business contracting. Our members and their employees have been active on the phones calling their senators, congressmen and the members of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, but we need more people to join in the effort. We need everyone that is concerned about the diversion of federal small business contracts, including you, to help us out and contact their senators today. Below you will find some links to the senate and congressional directories as well as a letter template that you can use to email them. Its time to ban together; we need your help.

Links

Senate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Congress: http://www.uschamber.com/chambers/directory/default

Sample Letter

Dear_____,

As an owner/employee of a small business I am very concerned about H.R. 1873, the Small Business Fairness In Contracting Act. The bill does not contain a provision that calls for the removal of all Fortune 1000 corporations and other large companies from the federal database of small businesses. I am asking that you propose and/or support a provision in the Senate modification of H.R. 1873 that would preclude Fortune 1000 corporations and other large businesses from receiving federal small business contract awards. I am also asking you to propose and/or support a provision that would prevent federal prime contractors and the Small Business Administration from awarding small business awards to large businesses and counting those awards toward the federal government's 23 percent small business procurement goal. The diversion of federal small business contracts has been covered by every major television network and newspaper in America and I believe it is time for Congress to take actions to ensure that federal small business contracts and subcontracts go to legitimate small businesses. We appreciate your help and consideration.

Sincerely,

Owners slip through the small business loophole

Here is an interesting article from Massachusetts that sheds light into small business issues in Senator John Kerry's state. As you know Senator Kerry is the chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Despite evidence of the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 1000 corporations through fraud, abuse, loopholes, and a lack of oversight, Senator Kerry has yet to hold oversight hearings in his committee.

Owners slip through the small business loophole
http://www.dailynewstribune.com/homepage/x1017306418

Presidential Debates In New Hampshire Ignore Small Businesses

Petaluma, Calif.- This week in Manchester, New Hampshire ten Republican Presidential candidates and eight Democratic Presidential candidates debated a variety of issues including the war in Iraq, healthcare, immigration and gays in the military. One subject that was conspicuously absent from the debates were any issues facing America’s 25 million small businesses.

With the exception of a brief comment from Governor Mitt Romney about the cost of health care for small businesses, the two words “small business” were absent from the debates.

President Bush and members of Congress routinely refer to small businesses as the backbone of our nation’s economy. They’re right: nationwide, small business accounts for 50.1 percent of the private sector workforce with 98 percent of all U.S. firms having less than 100 employees.

An analysis by My Success Gateway (http://www.mysuccessgateway.com/candidate.php), of the websites of major Presidential candidates such as Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani, found no mention of key issues facing America’s 25 million small businesses. Jim Peake, Founder and CEO of My Success Gateway LLC said, “It’s surprising that the websites of major Presidential candidates lack a concentration on solutions for small businesses, seniors and veterans.” Peak points out that 25 million small businesses, 38 million AARP members and 25 million veterans possibly represent 88 million potential votes, which is 72 percent of the 122 million popular votes collectively received by all candidates during the 2004 election (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_2004).

Since both political parties have repeatedly promised to clean up fraud in government; small business advocates watched the debates hoping to see some mention of the twelve federal investigations that found the Small Business Administration had included billions in federal contracts to Fortune 1000 corporation such as Boeing, Lockheed, L3 Communications, Raytheon and Rolls Royce towards the federal governments 23 percent small business goal. Two separate investigations found that fraud was responsible for the diversion of federal small business contracts to big businesses.

“The fact that there were no questions or comments relating to America’s 25 million small businesses is a prime example that small businesses do not have the voice in Washington they deserve,” American Small Business League President Lloyd Chapman said. “We are going to change that before the next debates.”

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ASBL - New Hampshire Small Businesses Could Lose Millions with New SBA Policy

Petaluma, Calif.- A Small Business Administration Policy proposed by Administrator Steven Preston is set to go into effect June 30th and could cost New Hampshire’s 31,593 businesses with less than 500 employees, millions of dollars over the next five years.

The proposed policy would call for the five-year re-certification of small business status for all firms who have been awarded a federal small business contract based on that standard. The policy will allow Fortune 1000 corporations and their subsidiaries to continue to collect on existing federal small business contracts through the year 2012.

“Five-year re-certification will cost New Hampshire small businesses millions,” American Small Business League President Lloyd Chapman said. “Annual re-certification is the best, most reasonable and prudent method of removing Fortune 1000 corporations and their subsidiaries from America’s federal small business contracting program.”

Without annual re-certification, U.S. firms will loose more than $60 billion a year, or more than $300 billion over the next five-years. This could translate to huge losses for New Hampshire small businesses through 2012, Chapman emphasized.

In recent years, the SBA, the SBA Office Inspector General, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Office of Management and Budget and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship have all endorsed an annual re-certification.

The Preston policy could force legitimate small businesses in New Hampshire to compete with some of the largest businesses in the country for even the smallest federal contracts. Groups like the American Small Business League are pledging to rally the support of small businesses around the country and even take legal action if necessary to stop the policy from going into effect.

“The proposed SBA policy is bad for small business and it is bad for New Hampshire,” Chapman said. “New Hampshire’s small business supply more than 305,000 jobs in the state; annual re-certification for all firms with existing federal small business contracts will only protect those employers and their employees.”

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2008 Presidential Candidates Ignore Backbone of U.S. Economy, According to a Study By My Success Gateway LLC

Petaluma, Calif.- A recent study by My Success Gateway, LLC (www.mysuccessgatway.com/candidate.php) has found that the websites of the 2008 Presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani lack a concentration on solutions for small businesses, seniors and veterans. This is an interesting fact considering that more than 75 million votes are collectively shared between the 25 million small businesses, the 38 million members of the American Association for Retired Persons and the more than 25 million veterans in the United States, says the American Small Business League.

On August 15, 2001, President George W. Bush addressed the Hispano Chamber of Commerce in Albuquerque, New Mexico and in regards to the economic impact of small businesses in America stated, "Most of the new employment in America comes from small-business owners. Small business is the backbone-is the backbone of our economic system."

Contradictory to this statement the Bush Administration has taken action to cut the Small Business Administration's budget significantly during the course of their term. In 2001, the last year in the Clinton administration, the SBA's budget was $1.1 billion. However, at the inception of the Bush Administration the SBA budget proceeded to drop to $579.5 million in 2005 and $456.5 million in 2006, according to a November 21, 2005 article in Inc Magazine.

"It is amazing that this field of candidates are absent of any solutions to strengthen small businesses, the backbone of the U.S. Economy," said Jim Peake of My Success Gateway LLC, a resource for entrepreneurs and small businesses. "Looking at the numbers the current administration has eroded the backbone and America is asleep at the wheel, probably paying more attention to the personal business of Paris Hilton than to the small business backbone of America."

It is concerning that candidates expressed more interest on the war in Iraq, Immigration and wedge issues than the small businesses that make up the backbone of the U.S. economy. "What the candidates fail to realize is that small businesses are funding a significant portion of the war in Iraq, and carrying a heavy burden in repaying the national debt," expressed Peake.

For Instance, in the State of New Hampshire there are 31,593 employer firms with fewer than 500 employees and those firms provide 305,000 jobs in the state. During the 2004 presidential race, George W. Bush received 331,237 popular votes and lost the state to Senator John Kerry who obtained 340,511 popular votes. Thus, by ignoring small business interests the presidential candidates are ignoring a large portion of American voters. "If any one candidate were to focus on small business in New Hampshire they could potentially wrap up the majority of the popular vote for that state," Peake said.

"The fact that the presidential candidates are virtually ignoring small business interests, is an indication that the candidates do not take small businesses seriously," American Small Business League President, Lloyd Chapman said. "Small businesses need to take a look at this situation and realize that it is time to get organized, create a movement for change, and ask these candidates about how are they going to support small businesses in their presidency."

Visit the 2008 presidential candidate web-site review at (www.mysuccessgateway.com/candidate.php) for more information and sign up here (www.asbl.com/join.php) for more breaking information.