Contact Information: Contact: Christopher Gunn Communications Director American Small Business League (707) 789-9575
Small Business Administration Sued for Refusing to Release Contracting Data
SBA Sued by the American Small Business League for Withholding Data on Billions of Dollars in Contracting Abuses
| Source: American Small Business League
PETALUMA, CA--(Marketwire - February 6, 2008) - The following is a statement by the American
Small Business League:
Today the American Small Business League filed their 4th federal lawsuit
against the Small Business Administration (SBA) in the U.S. District Court,
Northern District of California. The lawsuit was filed under the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) over the SBA's refusal to release the names of
Fortune 1000 firms that received billions of dollars in Federal small
business contracts during 2005 and 2006.
Since 2003, more than
a dozen federal investigations uncovered the fact that some of the
largest corporations in the United States and Europe were the actual
recipients of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts.
Under FOIA, the ASBL requested the specific names of all firms that were
coded by the federal government as small businesses for FY 2005 and FY
2006. Despite more than 400
stories in mainstream media across the nation documenting the diversion
of federal small business contracts to large corporations, the SBA
consistently refuses to release the names of Fortune 1000 corporations and
other large businesses that received federal small business contracts.
In addition to the federal investigations, investigative stories by
organizations, including CBS, ABC and CNN, found that firms
such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Halliburton, Bechtel, Microsoft, Wal-Mart,
GTSI, Hewlett Packard, L-3 Communications, SAIC and Rolls-Royce were the
actual recipients of billions of dollars in federal small business
contracts.
"In his recent State of the SBA speech, SBA administrator Steven Preston
stated that he was a strong proponent of transparency in federal
government," President of the American Small Business League Lloyd Chapman
said. "However, since his appointment Mr. Preston has: removed the data
from the government's database (CCR) that the public could use to determine
if a company is small or large; adopted a policy that allows Fortune 1000
corporations to continue to receive federal small business contracts
through 2012; refused to implement the congressionally mandated small
business program for women-owned firms; and refused to release the names of
the firms that the SBA reported as small businesses for the purpose of
meeting the Federal government's small business procurement goal."
During 2007, the SBA attempted to cover-up the diversion of federal small
business contracts by issuing their Myth v. Fact
press release. In the release, the SBA stated that it was a myth that
large businesses received federal small business contracts. However, with
the release of the SBA's "Top 100 Report," Preston acknowledged that large
businesses had received federal small business contracts, a blatant
contradiction of the SBA's earlier press releases.
"I am sure that we will win this lawsuit." Chapman said. "I want people to
know that when the government diverts $100 billion a year in contracts from
middle class America, there is a staggering negative economic impact. I
don't think there is any question that the Bush Administration's anti-small
business policies have been a contributing factor to our nation's current
economic woes."
Within the next 60 days, the ASBL plans to file similar lawsuits against
the Pentagon and the General Services Administration.