FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. – Just days before the election, President Barack Obama dropped a comprehensive plan to stimulate the middle class economy by stopping the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants. The plan was drafted over the course of three months by dozens of small business experts around the country who had been invited to serve on President Obama's small business advisory panel.
The plan included a number of policies that would have redirected up to $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts back to legitimate middle class firms around the country.
Since 2003, a series of over 15 federal investigations found Bush Administration officials allowed billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to be diverted to Fortune 500 firms, their subsidiaries and thousands of large businesses in the United States and Europe.
A report issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
President Obama responded to the investigations in February of 2008 with the statement, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
The plan included support for a new piece of draft legislation written by the American Small Business League (ASBL) titled the Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act. The new legislation would prevent government contracting officials from awarding small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and other large businesses. The ASBL estimates the new legislation would provide a dramatic boost to the nation's failing economy by redirecting up to $100 billion a year in federal infrastructure funds to middle class firms.
As opposed to other stimulus plans that could cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars, the Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act would be virtually free to taxpayers.
In December President Obama's transition team stated that up to 40,000 jobs could be created with every billion dollars spent on federal infrastructure projects. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/politics/07radio.html?_r=1) If calculations by President Obama and the ASBL are correct, the Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act could create over 4 million new jobs at virtually no expense to taxpayers.
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Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Venture Capitalists Move to Hijack Government Small Business Contracts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and its members have launched a well-financed campaign of political contributions and lobbying in hopes of raiding federal small business contracting programs.
For over two years, the NVCA and some of its wealthiest members have been on a mission to have the longstanding federal definition of a small business as "independently owned" modified to include firms that are not independently owned, but controlled by some of the nation's wealthiest investors.
Historically, venture capitalists have attempted to disguise legislation and policies to take over federal small business contracting programs as policies to "increase access to capital for small businesses."
The NVCA has blanketed both the House and Senate small business committees with contributions. Millions of dollars in campaign contributions have been dealt out to key Democratic leaders like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) and Senator John Kerry (D - MA). According to MAPLight.org, President Barack Obama received more than one million dollars in campaign contributions from venture capitalists during his campaign. (http://www.maplight.org/map/us/interest/F2500)
Opponents of the NVCA campaign to hijack federal small business contracting programs believe President Obama's appointment of multi-millionaire venture capitalist Karen Mills to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) could indicate that the NVCA has been successful in buying influence with the White House and the democratically controlled Congress.
In the past, the NVCA's efforts to muscle in on federal small business contracting programs have been opposed by the Bush White House, the SBA, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the American Small Business League (ASBL) and hundreds of small business advocacy groups and chambers of commerce across the country.
With help from President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, venture capitalists may try to slip language into the Obama stimulus plan that will modify the definition of a small business, which the Small Business Act currently defines as a firm that is "independently owned."
If the NVCA is successful, the ASBL projects that thousands of middle class jobs could be lost as small businesses across the country are forced out of business, due to a small number of firms controlled by wealthy investors dominating federal small business contracting programs.
"This is not about increasing small businesses access to capital. This is about increasing access to billions of dollars in federal small business contracts for some of our nation's wealthiest venture capitalists. It's unthinkable that President Obama would support policy changes that could devastate so many hard working small businesses as America faces its worst economic downturn since the great depression," ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said.
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January 28, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) and its members have launched a well-financed campaign of political contributions and lobbying in hopes of raiding federal small business contracting programs.
For over two years, the NVCA and some of its wealthiest members have been on a mission to have the longstanding federal definition of a small business as "independently owned" modified to include firms that are not independently owned, but controlled by some of the nation's wealthiest investors.
Historically, venture capitalists have attempted to disguise legislation and policies to take over federal small business contracting programs as policies to "increase access to capital for small businesses."
The NVCA has blanketed both the House and Senate small business committees with contributions. Millions of dollars in campaign contributions have been dealt out to key Democratic leaders like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D - CA) and Senator John Kerry (D - MA). According to MAPLight.org, President Barack Obama received more than one million dollars in campaign contributions from venture capitalists during his campaign. (http://www.maplight.org/map/us/interest/F2500)
Opponents of the NVCA campaign to hijack federal small business contracting programs believe President Obama's appointment of multi-millionaire venture capitalist Karen Mills to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) could indicate that the NVCA has been successful in buying influence with the White House and the democratically controlled Congress.
In the past, the NVCA's efforts to muscle in on federal small business contracting programs have been opposed by the Bush White House, the SBA, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the American Small Business League (ASBL) and hundreds of small business advocacy groups and chambers of commerce across the country.
With help from President Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, venture capitalists may try to slip language into the Obama stimulus plan that will modify the definition of a small business, which the Small Business Act currently defines as a firm that is "independently owned."
If the NVCA is successful, the ASBL projects that thousands of middle class jobs could be lost as small businesses across the country are forced out of business, due to a small number of firms controlled by wealthy investors dominating federal small business contracting programs.
"This is not about increasing small businesses access to capital. This is about increasing access to billions of dollars in federal small business contracts for some of our nation's wealthiest venture capitalists. It's unthinkable that President Obama would support policy changes that could devastate so many hard working small businesses as America faces its worst economic downturn since the great depression," ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said.
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No Plans From Obama to Dismantle Bush Anti-Small Business Policies
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 28, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. – President Obama has not offered any plans to stop Bush Administration policies that will allow Fortune 500 firms and some of the largest companies in Europe to continue to receive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts through the year 2012.
In June of 2007, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Steven Preston ignored recommendations from the SBA's own Office of Inspector General (OIG) and adopted a policy that will allow Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses to continue to receive federal small business contracts until 2012. (http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=592)
During the Bush Administration, 15 federal investigations and two private studies were released, which uncovered widespread fraud and abuse in virtually every federal small business contracting program. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
In March of 2005, the SBA OIG released Report 5-15 which stated, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
In Report 5-16, the SBA OIG found large businesses had committed felony federal contracting fraud by making "false certifications" and "improper certifications." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-16.pdf)
In Report 5-14, the SBA OIG found the SBA itself had reported contracts to Dutch conglomerate Buhrmann NV, with 26,000 employees worldwide as small business awards. (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-14.pdf)
A report from the SBA Office of Advocacy found large businesses had illegally received federal small business contracts through, "vendor deception." (http://www.asbl.com/documents/eagkeeye_report 2002.pdf)
In July of 2008, the Department of the Interior (DOI) OIG found that the agency had awarded millions of dollars in federal small business contracts to firms such as Dell Computer, Sherwin-Williams, John Deere, Xerox, Home Depot, GTSI Incorporated, McGraw-Hill Companies, Ricoh, Starwood Hotels, Weyerhaeuser, Waste Management and World Wide Technology. (http://www.doioig.gov/upload/2008-G-0024.pdf)
ABC, CBS and CNN all released investigative reports on the issue. (ABC, http://www.asbl.com/abc_evening_news.wmv ; CBS, http://www.asbl.com/cbs.wmv ;CNN, http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=1170)
The American Small Business League (ASBL) estimates that every year up to $100 billion in federal small business contracts are diverted to Fortune 500 firms and other large businesses.
In February of 2008, President Obama released the statement, "Its time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php) Small business advocates and millions of legitimate small businesses are hoping President Obama will make good on his campaign promise, but no specific plans to address the billions in fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting programs have been proposed by President Obama so far.
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January 28, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. – President Obama has not offered any plans to stop Bush Administration policies that will allow Fortune 500 firms and some of the largest companies in Europe to continue to receive hundreds of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts through the year 2012.
In June of 2007, former Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Steven Preston ignored recommendations from the SBA's own Office of Inspector General (OIG) and adopted a policy that will allow Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses to continue to receive federal small business contracts until 2012. (http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=592)
During the Bush Administration, 15 federal investigations and two private studies were released, which uncovered widespread fraud and abuse in virtually every federal small business contracting program. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
In March of 2005, the SBA OIG released Report 5-15 which stated, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
In Report 5-16, the SBA OIG found large businesses had committed felony federal contracting fraud by making "false certifications" and "improper certifications." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-16.pdf)
In Report 5-14, the SBA OIG found the SBA itself had reported contracts to Dutch conglomerate Buhrmann NV, with 26,000 employees worldwide as small business awards. (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-14.pdf)
A report from the SBA Office of Advocacy found large businesses had illegally received federal small business contracts through, "vendor deception." (http://www.asbl.com/documents/eagkeeye_report 2002.pdf)
In July of 2008, the Department of the Interior (DOI) OIG found that the agency had awarded millions of dollars in federal small business contracts to firms such as Dell Computer, Sherwin-Williams, John Deere, Xerox, Home Depot, GTSI Incorporated, McGraw-Hill Companies, Ricoh, Starwood Hotels, Weyerhaeuser, Waste Management and World Wide Technology. (http://www.doioig.gov/upload/2008-G-0024.pdf)
ABC, CBS and CNN all released investigative reports on the issue. (ABC, http://www.asbl.com/abc_evening_news.wmv ; CBS, http://www.asbl.com/cbs.wmv ;CNN, http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=1170)
The American Small Business League (ASBL) estimates that every year up to $100 billion in federal small business contracts are diverted to Fortune 500 firms and other large businesses.
In February of 2008, President Obama released the statement, "Its time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php) Small business advocates and millions of legitimate small businesses are hoping President Obama will make good on his campaign promise, but no specific plans to address the billions in fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting programs have been proposed by President Obama so far.
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Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Obama Will Give Small Business Contracts to Fortune 500 Firms and Venture Capitalists
Petaluma, Calif. – President Barack Obama has dropped a campaign promise he made to small businesses in February of 2008 when he said, “98 percent of all American companies have fewer than 100 employees. Over half of all Americans work for a small business. Small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy and we must protect this great resource. It’s time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.” (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
During the campaign, Obama modified the quote on his website to remove the statement. (http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/sbhome/)
President Obama is expected to join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and support a change in the federal definition of a small business as "independently owned" to include firms controlled by wealthy venture capitalists.
President Obama refused to include any proposed policies or legislation in his Change.gov website to address the problem. Just days before the election he also dropped a plan prepared by his small business advisory council to stop the flow of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses. Without specific legislation or policy from President Obama, middle class companies will continue to lose jobs and up to $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/BOsmallbusinesspolicy.pdf)
Obama's appointment of multi-millionaire venture capitalist and National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) member Karen Mills to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) is an indication that President Obama will likely support the diversion of federal small business contracts to wealthy venture capitalists.
During the course of the presidential campaign the NVCA and many of its largest members contributed millions of dollars to President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Kerry and dozens of key democratic members of Congress. The NVCA has been lobbying for changes in federal contracting law that will allow its members to take billions of dollars in federal contracts earmarked for small businesses. (http://www.maplight.org/map/us/interest/F2500)
The NVCA has hired some of Washington's most powerful lobbyists to help them gain access to federal programs designed to help middle class firms. They have tried to disguise the policy and legislative changes they are seeking by calling it, “increasing access to capital for small businesses.”
In the recent past, attempts by the NVCA to have the federal definition of a small business as “independently owned” modified was opposed by the SBA, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the American Small Business League and dozens of other small business groups around the country. (http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=624)
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During the campaign, Obama modified the quote on his website to remove the statement. (http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/sbhome/)
President Obama is expected to join House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and support a change in the federal definition of a small business as "independently owned" to include firms controlled by wealthy venture capitalists.
President Obama refused to include any proposed policies or legislation in his Change.gov website to address the problem. Just days before the election he also dropped a plan prepared by his small business advisory council to stop the flow of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses. Without specific legislation or policy from President Obama, middle class companies will continue to lose jobs and up to $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/BOsmallbusinesspolicy.pdf)
Obama's appointment of multi-millionaire venture capitalist and National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) member Karen Mills to head the Small Business Administration (SBA) is an indication that President Obama will likely support the diversion of federal small business contracts to wealthy venture capitalists.
During the course of the presidential campaign the NVCA and many of its largest members contributed millions of dollars to President Obama, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator John Kerry and dozens of key democratic members of Congress. The NVCA has been lobbying for changes in federal contracting law that will allow its members to take billions of dollars in federal contracts earmarked for small businesses. (http://www.maplight.org/map/us/interest/F2500)
The NVCA has hired some of Washington's most powerful lobbyists to help them gain access to federal programs designed to help middle class firms. They have tried to disguise the policy and legislative changes they are seeking by calling it, “increasing access to capital for small businesses.”
In the recent past, attempts by the NVCA to have the federal definition of a small business as “independently owned” modified was opposed by the SBA, the United States Chamber of Commerce, the American Small Business League and dozens of other small business groups around the country. (http://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=624)
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
No Policies From Obama To Stop Diversion of Federal Small Business Contracts to Fortune 500 Firms
Petaluma, Calif. – Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have uncovered billions of dollars in federal contracts intended for small businesses actually wound up in the hands of Fortune 500 firms.
Any plans from President Barack Obama to adopt the recommendation of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General to address the problem have been conspicuously absent from any of his stimulus plans or proposed policies.
President Obama has also ignored repeated pleas from small business groups around the country to adopt legislation and policies to stop Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses from commandeering up to $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts.
ABC, CBS and CNN have all released investigative stories on the issue, which found firms such as Lockheed Martin, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, John Deere, Xerox, Dell Computer, Northrop Grumman and Home Depot all received millions of dollars in federal small business contracts.
Even some of the largest firms in Europe such as British Aerospace (BAE), Rolls-Royce and Dutch giant Buhrmann NV have received hundreds of millions a year in U.S. government contracts intended for small businesses.
Thousands of middle class firms have been forced to close their doors as they struggled in vain to compete with Fortune 500 firms for even the smallest government orders for goods and services specifically set-aside for small businesses.
Small business advocates are concerned that President Obama will not only allow federal small business contracts to continue to be diverted to Fortune 500 firms, but that he will support a new federal policy that will create a new loophole in federal law allowing even more government small business contracts to be diverted to firms controlled by some of the nation’s wealthiest investors.
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) has contributed millions of dollars to President Obama and key members of Congress, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to try and have federal law changed to allow some of the wealthiest investors in the country to masquerade as small businesses and take billions of dollars in federal contracts designated for legitimate small businesses.
President Obama's appointment of Karen Mills, a multi-millionaire venture capitalist, to the post of Administrator of the SBA is seen by small business groups as a confirmation that President Obama will attempt to create more loopholes in federal contracting law, which will divert more federal small business contracts away from middle class firms and into the hands of wealthy investors.
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Any plans from President Barack Obama to adopt the recommendation of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General to address the problem have been conspicuously absent from any of his stimulus plans or proposed policies.
President Obama has also ignored repeated pleas from small business groups around the country to adopt legislation and policies to stop Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses from commandeering up to $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts.
ABC, CBS and CNN have all released investigative stories on the issue, which found firms such as Lockheed Martin, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, John Deere, Xerox, Dell Computer, Northrop Grumman and Home Depot all received millions of dollars in federal small business contracts.
Even some of the largest firms in Europe such as British Aerospace (BAE), Rolls-Royce and Dutch giant Buhrmann NV have received hundreds of millions a year in U.S. government contracts intended for small businesses.
Thousands of middle class firms have been forced to close their doors as they struggled in vain to compete with Fortune 500 firms for even the smallest government orders for goods and services specifically set-aside for small businesses.
Small business advocates are concerned that President Obama will not only allow federal small business contracts to continue to be diverted to Fortune 500 firms, but that he will support a new federal policy that will create a new loophole in federal law allowing even more government small business contracts to be diverted to firms controlled by some of the nation’s wealthiest investors.
The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) has contributed millions of dollars to President Obama and key members of Congress, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to try and have federal law changed to allow some of the wealthiest investors in the country to masquerade as small businesses and take billions of dollars in federal contracts designated for legitimate small businesses.
President Obama's appointment of Karen Mills, a multi-millionaire venture capitalist, to the post of Administrator of the SBA is seen by small business groups as a confirmation that President Obama will attempt to create more loopholes in federal contracting law, which will divert more federal small business contracts away from middle class firms and into the hands of wealthy investors.
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Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Bush Administration Policy Cost Small Businesses Over a Trillion Dollars in Federal Contracts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 21, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - There is no way to know exactly how many billions of dollars in federal contracts American small businesses lost during the eight years of the Bush Administration.
During President Bush's tenure, administration officials went to extreme lengths to make it difficult, if not impossible to obtain the government's records on small business contracting.
Under Bush, the United States Department of Justice went to federal court on several occasions to fight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the specific names of firms that had received federal small business contracts.
Since 2003, 15 federal investigations have found that Bush Administration officials have diverted billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses in the U.S. and Europe. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
In 2005, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General released Report 5-15, which stated, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
Based on an evaluation of all available federal contracting data, the American Small Business League (ASBL) estimates that the Bush Administration diverted over $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts to large businesses.
In addition to diverting more than $800 billion in federal small business contracts to corporate giants, President Bush has attempted to systematically dismantle every federal program designed to assist small businesses including those firms owned by women, minorities and veterans.
For eight years, Bush Administration officials refused to implement a federal law establishing a 5 percent federal contracting goal for woman-owned firms. Bush officials at the SBA closed the office to assist veteran-owned firms and laid off the vast majority of staff designated to assist minority-owned firms.
Additionally, Bush cut the SBA's budget and staffing to the point that the agency could barely function. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, hundreds of the SBA's most experienced staff were laid off.
Considering the volume of federal small business contracts that have been diverted to large businesses, and the lost contracting opportunities for small businesses and firms owned by women, minorities and veterans, small businesses may have lost over $1 trillion in federal contracts during the Bush Administration.
Small businesses may not fair much better under President Obama. To date, President Obama has not proposed a single policy to stop the flow of federal small business contracts to corporate giants. Even worse, President Obama appears to favor a change in federal law that will divert federal small business contracts to firms controlled by some of the nation's wealthiest venture capitalists.
If President Obama does follow in George Bush's footsteps and enact legislation and policies that will divert even more government small business contracts to large businesses and wealthy investors, he will most likely do just what President Bush did and talk about what a valuable resource small businesses are to our nation's economy while he is doing it.
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January 21, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - There is no way to know exactly how many billions of dollars in federal contracts American small businesses lost during the eight years of the Bush Administration.
During President Bush's tenure, administration officials went to extreme lengths to make it difficult, if not impossible to obtain the government's records on small business contracting.
Under Bush, the United States Department of Justice went to federal court on several occasions to fight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for the specific names of firms that had received federal small business contracts.
Since 2003, 15 federal investigations have found that Bush Administration officials have diverted billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses in the U.S. and Europe. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)
In 2005, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General released Report 5-15, which stated, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
Based on an evaluation of all available federal contracting data, the American Small Business League (ASBL) estimates that the Bush Administration diverted over $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts to large businesses.
In addition to diverting more than $800 billion in federal small business contracts to corporate giants, President Bush has attempted to systematically dismantle every federal program designed to assist small businesses including those firms owned by women, minorities and veterans.
For eight years, Bush Administration officials refused to implement a federal law establishing a 5 percent federal contracting goal for woman-owned firms. Bush officials at the SBA closed the office to assist veteran-owned firms and laid off the vast majority of staff designated to assist minority-owned firms.
Additionally, Bush cut the SBA's budget and staffing to the point that the agency could barely function. During the eight years of the Bush Administration, hundreds of the SBA's most experienced staff were laid off.
Considering the volume of federal small business contracts that have been diverted to large businesses, and the lost contracting opportunities for small businesses and firms owned by women, minorities and veterans, small businesses may have lost over $1 trillion in federal contracts during the Bush Administration.
Small businesses may not fair much better under President Obama. To date, President Obama has not proposed a single policy to stop the flow of federal small business contracts to corporate giants. Even worse, President Obama appears to favor a change in federal law that will divert federal small business contracts to firms controlled by some of the nation's wealthiest venture capitalists.
If President Obama does follow in George Bush's footsteps and enact legislation and policies that will divert even more government small business contracts to large businesses and wealthy investors, he will most likely do just what President Bush did and talk about what a valuable resource small businesses are to our nation's economy while he is doing it.
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Monday, January 19, 2009
Obama Stimulus Plan Breaks Campaign Promise to Small Businesses
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
January 16, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - On February 22, 2008, Barack Obama released the following statement:
“It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.” (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
The statement was made in response to more than 12 federal investigations, which found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts had been diverted to Fortune 500 corporations, their subsidiaries and thousands of other large businesses in the United States and Europe.
Report 5-15 from the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General stated, “One of the most important challenges facing the SBA and the entire Federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards.” (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
Since the exposure of this issue in 2002, nearly every major newspaper in the United States has covered the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
Now, in the face of one of the most catastrophic economic disasters in U.S. history, President-elect Obama has failed to include any provision in his economic stimulus plan to stop the diversion of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
President-elect Obama’s refusal to take decisive action to stop the diversion of up to $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts seems to be a direct contradiction to everything he has said about taking “dramatic action” to “put people back to work.”
Many of the nation’s most respected experts on the economy like Dr. Laura Tyson and Carly Fiorina agree the best way to stimulate our nation’s failing economy is to direct federal infrastructure funds to small businesses. Tyson is the former Chair of the U.S. President's Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration and is currently an economic adviser to President-elect Barack Obama. Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and McCain campaign economic advisor.
President-elect Obama’s refusal to stop the fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting programs will only result in more lost jobs at middle class firms across the nation.
“It does not make sense to throw nearly a trillion of hard earned taxpayer dollars at an economic stimulus plan and then ignore fraud and abuse in longstanding federal programs specifically designed to create jobs and stimulate the middle class economy,” President of the American Small Business League Lloyd Chapman said. “It would take one sentence in this bill to create thousands of jobs and to redirect billions of dollars in federal contracts to legitimate small businesses all around the country. My advice to President-elect Obama is that if he sincerely wants to create jobs in America he needs to include this one line in the stimulus package, ‘The federal government can no longer report awards to publicly traded companies as small business awards.’ ”
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January 16, 2009
Petaluma, Calif. - On February 22, 2008, Barack Obama released the following statement:
“It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.” (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)
The statement was made in response to more than 12 federal investigations, which found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts had been diverted to Fortune 500 corporations, their subsidiaries and thousands of other large businesses in the United States and Europe.
Report 5-15 from the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General stated, “One of the most important challenges facing the SBA and the entire Federal government today is that large businesses are receiving small business procurement awards and agencies are receiving credit for these awards.” (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf)
Since the exposure of this issue in 2002, nearly every major newspaper in the United States has covered the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
Now, in the face of one of the most catastrophic economic disasters in U.S. history, President-elect Obama has failed to include any provision in his economic stimulus plan to stop the diversion of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.
President-elect Obama’s refusal to take decisive action to stop the diversion of up to $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts seems to be a direct contradiction to everything he has said about taking “dramatic action” to “put people back to work.”
Many of the nation’s most respected experts on the economy like Dr. Laura Tyson and Carly Fiorina agree the best way to stimulate our nation’s failing economy is to direct federal infrastructure funds to small businesses. Tyson is the former Chair of the U.S. President's Council of Economic Advisers during the Clinton Administration and is currently an economic adviser to President-elect Barack Obama. Fiorina is the former CEO of Hewlett-Packard and McCain campaign economic advisor.
President-elect Obama’s refusal to stop the fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting programs will only result in more lost jobs at middle class firms across the nation.
“It does not make sense to throw nearly a trillion of hard earned taxpayer dollars at an economic stimulus plan and then ignore fraud and abuse in longstanding federal programs specifically designed to create jobs and stimulate the middle class economy,” President of the American Small Business League Lloyd Chapman said. “It would take one sentence in this bill to create thousands of jobs and to redirect billions of dollars in federal contracts to legitimate small businesses all around the country. My advice to President-elect Obama is that if he sincerely wants to create jobs in America he needs to include this one line in the stimulus package, ‘The federal government can no longer report awards to publicly traded companies as small business awards.’ ”
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