Rep. Altmire: Most Anti-Business Lawmaker

9th Circuit Rules SBA Does Not have to Release Agency Phone Records

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 19, 2010

Petaluma, Calif. – On Friday, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals released its ruling in a lawsuit filed by the American Small Business League (ASBL) against the Small Business Administration (SBA) regarding the agency’s phone records. The case was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The ASBL originally requested phone records for SBA Press Office Chief Mike Stamler. The ASBL believes that Stamler and the SBA Press Office have engaged in a campaign to discourage the media from reporting on the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and corporate giants around the world.

Through the course of litigation, the SBA has claimed that it does not have access to its own phone records. On Friday, the appellate court ruled that the agency is not required to retrieve records from a third party if the government has not specifically contracted for the storage of those records.

Over the last several years, the ASBL has won a series of lawsuits against the SBA, which have shown that the SBA has lied to Congress, the public and the media about the diversion of more than $100 billion a year in federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

Since 2003, more than a dozen federal investigations have uncovered billions of dollars a month in small business contracts awarded to large businesses. In Report 5-14, the SBA Office of Inspector General found the SBA itself had awarded small business contracts to large businesses. The most recent data released by the government shows large recipients of small business contracts like: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, L-3 Communications, Raytheon, British Aerospace (BAE), General Dynamics, Rolls-Royce and Dell Computer.

Despite these findings, the SBA issued a press release claiming that it was a myth that large businesses received federal small business contracts.

During 2010, the ASBL issued similar FOIA requests to several other federal agencies. In each case, the records were released. The SBA is the only agency that has been unwilling to provide its phone records.

“I am disappointed in the 9th Circuit Court’s ruling, but I am gratified that we have been able to show how desperate the SBA Press Office is to withhold potentially damaging phone records. Clearly they have something to hide,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said. “I want to promise the SBA, and its Administrator Karen Mills, that the ASBL will continue its legal campaign to expose the fact that the SBA has lied about the diversion of small business contracts to large businesses.”

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

Obama Rhetoric on Infrastructure Spending Doesn’t Match Administration Actions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2010

Petaluma, Calif. – On Monday, President Barack Obama emphasized the importance of putting Americans back to work using federal infrastructure projects. Yet, despite strong rhetoric on jobs, President Obama has failed to stop the purge of jobs caused by the diversion of billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

Since 2003, more than a dozen federal investigations have uncovered billions of dollars in federal small business contracts, actually flowing into the hands of Fortune 500 corporations and other clearly large businesses. In Report 5-15, the Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Inspector General referred to the issue as, “One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today.” (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html)

The most recent information released by the Obama Administration indicates that of the top 100 recipients of federal small business contracts, 65 percent of the dollars actually went to large businesses. Some of the firms the Obama Administration has allowed to be included as small businesses are: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, L-3 Communications, British Aerospace (BAE), Northrop Grumman, Dell Computer, French firm Thales Communications, Ssangyong Corporation headquartered in Seoul, South Korea and Finmeccanica SpA, which is located in Italy with 73,000 employees. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/ASBL_2009_dataanalysis.pdf)

Textron Inc., a Fortune 500 firm with 43,000 employees and annual sales over $14 billion, received approximately $775 million in federal small business contracts in a single year. http://www.asbl.com/documents/20090825TopSmallBusinessContractors2008.pdf

In February of 2008, presidential candidate Barack Obama recognized the magnitude of the problem when he promised to, “End the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." To date, President Obama has failed to honor that promise. (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)

In May, the ASBL conducted an examination of the Obama Administration’s track record for small businesses and uncovered a dramatic disparity between President Obama’s rhetoric and his actions. In addition to failing to stop the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants, the Obama Administration has:

1. Reduced overall transparency in federal small business contracting data by eliminating fields such as the "small business flag."
2. Failed to allocate more than 3 percent of stimulus funds to small businesses.
3. Failed to bring an end to the Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program, which allows prime contractors to circumvent their small business subcontracting goals.
(www.asbl.com/documents/20100526_ASBL_AnalysisObamaSB.pdf)

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

GTSI Admitted They Were Not a Small Business on 1999 SEC Documents

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2010

Petaluma, Calif. – In 1999, GTSI, a Top 50 government contractor reported that it was no longer a small business for the purposes of government contracting. Yet from fiscal year (FY) 2004 to FY 2010, GTSI received more than $1.18 billion in federal small business contracts. Data from the Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation (FPDS-NG) indicates that GTSI received as much as $268 million a year in small business contracts over the 7-year period. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/GTSI_FY1999.pdf; http://www.asbl.com/documents/GTSI_FY2000.pdf)

The company’s 1999 annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stated, “As a result of the acquisition of the BTG Division in February 1998, GTSI no longer qualifies as a small business for contract awards after February, 1998.” The company reiterated that statement in its 2000 report.

On October 1, the Small Business Administration (SBA) suspended GTSI from federal contracting programs. The suspension came as the result of government allegations that the company inappropriately gained access to contracts set aside for small businesses.

Section 16(d) of the Small Business Act, prescribes penalties of up to $500,000 and up to 10 years in prison for firms that misrepresent themselves as small businesses in order to illegally receive federal small business contracts.

Since 2003, more than a dozen federal investigations have uncovered billions of dollars a year in federal small business contracts flowing into the hands of corporate giants around the world. The most recent information released by the Obama Administration indicates that of the top 100 recipients of federal small business contracts, 65 percent of the dollars actually went to large businesses. (http://www.asbl.com/documents/ASBL_2009_dataanalysis.pdf)

Large businesses included in the Obama Administration’s small business data include: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, British Aerospace (BAE), Rolls-Royce, Raytheon, Dell Computer, and General Electric. (http://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html#5-15)

In Report 5-15, the SBA’s Office of Inspector General referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants as, “One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today.”

“This is a serious federal crime that carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison. The fact that the SBA waited almost 12 years to suspend GTSI after they admitted that they were not a small business, is proof they are assisting these large firms in high-jacking small business contracts. It is time for the Justice Department to step in and take over the investigation from the SBA,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said.

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

Jobs Bill Should Include Language to Increase Contracts for Small Businesses

Jobs Bill Should Include Language to End the Diversion of Small Business Contracts to Corporate Giants

Petaluma, Calif. – In February of 2008, Barack Obama promised small businesses that if elected president he would, “end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)

President Obama’s campaign promise was based upon a series of federal investigations, which found that Fortune 500 firms and thousands of large businesses in the U.S. and Europe received billions of dollars in federal small business contracts. The first federal investigation was held in May of 2003. Today, large businesses continue to receive billions of dollars in federal contracts intended for small businesses.

The American Small Business League (ASBL) strongly encourages Congress to add language to H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act, which would simply halt the diversion of federal small business funds to corporate giants. The ASBL maintains that ending these abuses would be the most effective and efficient means of stimulating the American economy and creating jobs.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses are responsible for more than 90 percent of all net new jobs, 50.2 percent of the non-farm private sector workforce, 50 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and 90 percent of exports and innovations. (http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs359.pdf)

The most recent information released by the Obama Administration indicates that of the top 100 recipients of federal small business contracts, 65 percent of the dollars actually went to large businesses.(http://www.asbl.com/documents/ASBL_2009_dataanalysis.pdf)

The federal government has a goal of awarding 23 percent of all government contracts to small businesses. The ASBL has estimated that the government is currently awarding less than 5 percent of its purchases to small businesses. Ending the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants could increase the volume of government dollars awarded to small businesses by more than 18 percent.

In April of 2010, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair, Mary L. Landrieu (D-LA), estimated that increasing contracts to small businesses by just 1 percent, would create more than 100,000 new jobs. Based on this estimate, ending this fraud and abuse could create more than 1.8 million new jobs. (www.smallbusinessmajority.org/_docs/resources/SBC_Jobs_Package.pdf)

“If President Obama wants to create jobs, it’s real simple; quit giving small business contracts to Fortune 1000 firms and large businesses. He could do that with one or two sentences in the jobs bill,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said.


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Contact:
Christopher Gunn
Communications Director
American Small Business League
(707) 789-9575

Obama Jobs Bill Could be Job Killer for Small Businesses

Obama Jobs Bill Could Slash Contracting Opportunities for Small Businesses

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2010

Petaluma, Calif. – President Barack Obama’s small business jobs bill contains a dangerous loophole that could encourage billions of dollars in fraud in small business contracting programs, and protect fraudulent companies from prosecution. The bill is currently pending in the U.S. Senate.

Section 1341 of H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act, contains provisions that would allow the Small Business Administration (SBA) to develop policies and procedures that would protect large businesses that have misrepresented themselves as small businesses from prosecution for felony contracting fraud.

Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have found billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts have been diverted to Fortune 500 firms, large businesses throughout the U.S. and some of the largest companies in Europe.

In 2005, the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA IG) 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.asbl.com/documents/05-15.pdf)

In Report 5-16, the SBA IG found that large businesses had received federal small business contracts fraudulently by making “false certifications” and “improper certifications.” (http://www.asbl.com/documents/05-16.pdf)

Section 1341 of President Obama’s jobs bill would give the SBA a blank check to develop policies that could protect large corporations from prosecution under the law. Section 16(d) of the Small Business Act prescribes a penalty of up to ten years in prison and a fine of not more than $500,000 per occurrence for firms that have misrepresented themselves as small businesses.

For over a decade, the SBA has attempted to cover-up flagrant abuses in the program by claiming they were the result of miscoding and computer glitches. In one case, Pevco, a Baltimore based small business began losing small business contracts to one of the largest companies in Switzerland. Pevco Chairman Fred Valerino Sr. contacted his congressman, and the SBA responded by claiming that Translogic Corporation received 147 small business contracts over a six-year period “accidentally.”

“The harm done to small businesses by Section 1341, would greatly outweigh any minor benefit the other provisions of the bill might provide,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said. “This paragraph could legalize billions of dollars in federal contracting fraud and be tantamount to repealing the small business act. We are going to do everything we can to block this section of the bill. It would only encourage fraud and abuse, divert more federal funds away from legitimate small businesses, and cost America jobs.”


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

Huge Loophole in Senate Jobs Bill