A bigger Voice for Small Business

SBA to Launch Damage Control Campaign After Losing Federal lawsuit

by | May 30, 2008 | Press Release

Press Release

SBA to Launch Damage Control Campaign After Losing Federal lawsuit

May 30, 2008

Petaluma, Calif. -After winning its fourth federal lawsuit against the Small Business Administration (SBA), the American Small Business League (ASBL) predicts that the SBA will launch a damage control campaign to withhold the data and divert media attention from the documents. The ASBL believes the data will reveal that the Bush Administration diverted billions of dollars in federal contracts earmarked for small businesses to Fortune 500 firms and their subsidiaries during 2005 and 2006.

On May 19th, United States District Court Judge Marilyn H. Patel ordered the SBA to comply with the ASBL's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request within two weeks. In its request, the ASBL sought the specific names of all firms that had received federal small business contracts during 2005 and 2006.

ASBL President Lloyd Chapman predicts that the SBA will use some of the same tactics that it has used in the past to withhold the requested data and minimize the negative impact the information will have on the Bush Administration.

"This information will be very damaging to the credibility of SBA Administrator Steven Preston and the Bush Administration. Why else would they have gone to federal court to withhold what should be harmless figures? I believe this data will prove that the Bush Administration has lied to Congress and the public since 2001 and intentionally diverted billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 corporations," Chapman said. "I think they are going to use every trick in the book to withhold this data and divert media attention from the damaging nature of this information. I wouldn't be surprised if they appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit Court."

In the past, the SBA has attempted to explain the diversion of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms by claiming "computer glitches" and "miscoding" were responsible for the inflated statistics. SBA has used the "miscoding" explanation every year since 2002.

Chapman believes that the SBA may try to remove the names of obvious Fortune 500 firms and then significantly inflate contracting amounts to legitimate small businesses as a means of maintaining the previously reported small business contracting numbers. A small firm that actually received $100,000 in federal small business contracts would be reported as receiving $100,000,000. If the discrepancy is discovered, the SBA will claim "computer glitches" were responsible for the error.

Another damage control tactic the SBA has used when forced to release damaging information to the public is to release the documents late Friday afternoon as a means of reducing the probability that major media outlets will pick up the story.

Federal law does not require the SBA to release the information directly to the ASBL. In the past the SBA has tried to find a Bush Administration friendly media outlet and release the damaging information to them.

In 2004, the SBA lost another federal case to the ASBL under FOIA and was forced to release a damaging report that found fraud was prevalent in federal small business contracting programs. The SBA complied with the court order by releasing the damaging report to the Wall Street Journal with an embargoed press release. What appeared to be an objective story on the report was actually written largely by the SBA itself. That story made no mention of the fact that the SBA was forced to release the report after losing a federal lawsuit to the ASBL. (https://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=47)

 
###

 

ASBL: SBA Will Start Damage Control

by | May 30, 2008 | ASBL News

News

ASBL: SBA Will Start Damage Control

By Chris Crum
Smallbusinessnewz.com
May 30, 2008

Recently, he American Small Business League (ASBL) won its fourth federal lawsuit against the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), and it is making sure that everyone knows about it.

The ASBL is trying to call the SBA's moves before they make them, which should make it interesting to see if they happen as the ASBL paints them.

The ASBL believes that the SBA will initiate a "damage control" campaign, to draw media attention away from potentially incriminating documents that the ASBL believes will reveal that billions of dollars in contracts were awarded to Fortune 500 firms and their subsidiaries rather than small businesses, which should have received them.

The SBA was ordered to comply with the ASBL's Freedom of Information Act request within 2 weeks from May 19th, and this request asks specifically for all of the names of firms that received federal small business contracts in 2005 and 2006.

     "This information will be very damaging to the credibility of SBA Administrator Steven Preston and the Bush Administration," says Lloyd Chapman, President of the ASBL. "Why else would they have gone to federal court to withhold what should be harmless figures? I believe this data will prove that the Bush Administration has lied to Congress and the public since 2001 and intentionally diverted billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 corporations."

"I think they are going to use every trick in the book to withhold this data and divert media attention from the damaging nature of this information," added Chapman. "I wouldn't be surprised if they appealed the case to the Ninth Circuit Court."

Strong words from the ASBL. Not that the bitterness between the two organizations is anything new. For earlier stories on their conflicts, go here.

The ASBL says that since 2002, the SBA has been blaming "computer glitches" and "miscoding" for inflated numbers involving federal contracts and Fortune 500 firms. They suspect that they will edit the numbers in the forthcoming documents to reduce their guilty appearance, and if busted, chalk it up to "computer glitches" yet again.





SBA Moves to Include Big Business in Small Business Programs

by | May 29, 2008 | Press Release

Press Release

SBA Moves to Include Big Business in Small Business Programs

May 29, 2008

Petaluma, Calif. – On Tuesday, May 27, the Small Business Administration (SBA) surprised small business owners around the country by announcing they will hold crucial public meetings regarding a comprehensive review of small business size standards in Washington D.C. on June 3rd. Small business size standards are one of the most important topics concerning small federal contractors because they will determine which companies will be able to participate in federal small business contracting programs.
 
SBA critics believe the extreme short notice of the meetings is no accident, and was designed to make it more difficult for firms and organizations outside of the Washington D.C. area to be in attendance. Notice of such meetings is normally given months in advance. With such short notice, the input from the meetings will be dominated by subsidiaries of Fortune 1000 firms and large firms in the D.C. area that currently receive a major portion of all federal small business contracts. Lobbyists and trade groups that support large businesses in the IT industry are also expected to attend.
 
Since 2002, a series of federal investigations have found that the Bush Administration has inflated the government’s small business contracting data by including billions of dollars in awards to Fortune 1000 firms and other large businesses. SBA critics expect the meetings to result in new higher small business size standards that allow larger firms to continue to receive the lion's share of federal small business contracts.
 
The meetings will cover small business size standards in two groups. One involving size standards based on annual receipts and the other will cover size standards based on the number of employees.
 
During the last three years, the SBA has received thousands of comments from small business owners, chambers of commerce and small business advocacy groups across the country calling on the SBA to reduce small business size standards. In 2005, the SBA received a record volume of comments from the public supporting a reduction in the small business size standard for non-manufacturing firms from 500 to 100 employees. (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-9428.htm)
 
The SBA has consistently ignored public outcry in favor of reducing small business size standards and removing large firms from federal small business contracting programs. In June of 2007, SBA Administrator Steven Preston ignored thousands of public comments opposing the SBA grandfathering plan by implementing a policy that will allow large businesses in the United States and Europe to continue to receive federal small business contracts until the year 2012.
 
The surprise meetings are being viewed as a start to another Bush Administration attempt to disassemble small business contracting programs. After the hearings the SBA will likely propose significant increases in small business size standards that will favor many large firms in the D.C. area.
 
The American Small Business League (ASBL) is preparing a national campaign to counter the Bush Administration’s attempt to dismantle small business programs by allowing large businesses to compete for small business contracts. The ASBL recently won its fourth federal lawsuit against the SBA and is currently exploring legal remedies to stop the Bush Administration from further damaging small business programs.
 
Democratic Presidential Candidate Barack Obama has issued a statement opposing the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses. In January of this year, Senator Obama stated, "It is time to stop the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." ASBL plans to enlist Senator Obama's support to stop the Bush Administration's efforts to divert federal small business contracts to Fortune 1000 firms and other large businesses.
 
 
###

SBA ordered to turn over records

by | May 21, 2008 | ASBL News

News

SBA ordered to turn over records

By Steve Hart
The Press Democrat
May 21, 2008

 

 

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Small Business Administration to turn over records sought by a Petaluma small business advocacy group.

The American Small Business League is suing the federal government, alleging $60 billion a year in federal contracts meant for small business are going to big corporations instead.

In a report last year, SBA said there are “very few” cases of large corporations getting federal contracts meant for small business, and the agency is taking steps to solve the problem.

On Monday, Judge Marilyn Patel of U.S. District Court in San Francisco ordered SBA to turn over documents sought by the American Small Business League within two weeks.

The Petaluma group said the documents will show which companies received federal contracts.

Another hearing is set in the case June 16.

Source:  http://www.pressdemocrat.com