PETALUMA, Calif., April 10, 2006 /PRNewswire/ In response to recent efforts by conservative Republicans to bring an end to Federal programs for small businesses, the National Black Chamber of Commerce sent this statement to over 100,000 of its members in a recent e-mail newsletter:

Now the Bigots want to kill the SBA: Right wing conservative think tanks have found a new target. Being that they can't thoroughly kill affirmative action through hate initiatives and stacking the commission of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission with anti-civil rights fanatics, they now want to kill the SBA. It appears to them that the SBA has done too much for Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native Americans and Women-owned businesses. Providing loans and contracts that would otherwise not touch these segments, they are furious that not all lending and contractual opportunities go strictly to white males. Job creation in minority communities and women leaving the kitchen are considered threats to them. Think tank groups such as the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research have gone on the attack. Let's rise and beat them back. Congress should be put on notice: Trying to kill the SBA will be like trying to kill your political career – LITERALLY. We are watching.

"I applaud the National Black Chamber of Commerce for defending the small business programs that assist so many entrepreneurs nationwide," stated Lloyd Chapman, President of the American Small Business League. "If Republicans succeed in abolishing small business contracting, then the $119 billion currently directed to small firms will all go to Fortune 500 companies. Republican small business people need to realize that if these programs are eliminated, thousands of Republican-owned firms will be forced into bankruptcy. Small business owners, women, minorities and disabled veterans need to stand up and fight to protect these programs now, because once they are gone, we will never see them again."

About the ASBL
The American Small Business League was formed to promote and advocate policies that provide the greatest opportunity for small businesses - the 98% of U.S. companies with less than 100 employees. The ASBL is founded on the principle that small businesses, the backbone of a vital American economy, should receive the fair treatment promised by the Small Business Act of 1953. Representing small businesses in all fields and industries throughout the United States, the ASBL monitors existing policies and proposed policy changes by the Small Business Administration and other federal agencies that affect its members.

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PETALUMA, Calif., April 6, 2006 /PRNewswire/ Small business owners across the country have begun to voice their concerns that the General Services Administration is about to propose policies which would allow billions of dollars in small business contracts to be diverted to large firms. Under the guise of "improving efficiency", the GSA has announced that they are beginning their review for an update of the GSA Acquisition Regulation (GSAR), or the regulatory part of the GSA's Acquisition Manual.

There are a number of areas being reviewed in the GSAR that address the interests of small and disadvantaged businesses, minority, women and veteran-owned firms. The GSA is not specific about how they plan to "streamline" the regulations that pertain to these entities. Because government personnel and industry have been asked to submit suggestions, many small business owners fear that regulations that currently protect their participation in the procurement process will be eliminated or altered to create loopholes that will exclude them.

"I'm very concerned that the GSA is going to do what they've always done which is to implement policies that will allow Federal agencies and prime contractors to report contracts to large companies as small business awards," stated Lloyd Chapman, President of the American Small Business League. "I also foresee that the GSA will attempt to disallow any comments they receive that do not agree with their goal of diverting contracts to large businesses. My experience has been that the government manipulates this process in order to achieve its own ends."

Although seven Federal investigations have uncovered fraud and abuse in small business contracting, none of the areas that the GSA is proposing to change address the significant problems that allow this to happen.