A bigger Voice for Small Business

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.
 
 
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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

SBA ordered to reveal names of companies that got federal small business contracts

by | May 21, 2008 | ASBL News

News

SBA ordered to reveal names of companies that got federal small business contracts

Central Valley Business Times
May 21, 2008

Click here to listen or download  (asbl-sba.mp3, 6.40 MB)  

•  Federal judge gives SBA two weeks to comply

•  American Small Business League suspects money really went to biggest corporations

•  Updated at 11:50 a.m. with audio interview

The Small Business Administration has two weeks to release the names of the companies that got federal small business contracts in 2005 and 2006, says a federal judge.

U.S. District Court Judge Marilyn Patel issued her ruling Tuesday evening in a Freedom of Information lawsuit filed by the American Small Business League of Petaluma.

It’s the fourth time the ASBL has sued the SBA over releasing information and the fourth time it has won, the organization says.

(ASBL President Lloyd Chapman talks about the suit and why he sees it as important to America in a CVBT Audio Interview. Please click on the link below to listen or to download the MP3 audio file to your computer or iPod)

 In the latest lawsuit, the ASBL wants the specific names of the firms that were coded as small businesses for fiscal year 2005 and the specific dollar amounts that were awarded to those firms.

The contract total for firms from FY 2005 should total $75.1 billion as released by the Small Business Administration, the ASBL says.

It also wants the specific names of firms that were coded as small businesses for fiscal year 2006 and the specific dollar volume of contracts that were awarded to those firms.

The contract for firms from FY 2006 should total $77.7 billion as released by the Small Business Administration, ASBL says.

“We believe that this information will prove that billions of dollars in federal small business contracts actually went to many of the largest corporations in the United States and Europe during those years,” the ASBL says.

ASBL filed suit against the SBA after the agency refused to comply with the Freedom of Information Act request.

The SBA did not immediately respond to an e-mail request for comment.

Source:  http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=8802


HUD Secretary Appointee to Field Tough Questions From the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

by | May 19, 2008 | Press Release

Press Release

HUD Secretary Appointee to Field Tough Questions From the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs

May 19, 2008

Petaluma, Calif. – The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs is scheduled to hold hearings Tuesday, May 20th on the pending nomination of current Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), Steven Preston as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Small business advocates expect the committee, which is chaired by Christopher J. Dodd (D – CT), to challenge Administrator Preston on his poor track record on small business.
 
On July 10, 2006, Mr. Preston was sworn in as Administrator of the SBA, assuming the position after the resignation of former SBA Administrator Hector Baretto. Baretto’s tenure has been severely criticized by small business groups, the press and Congress for allowing billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to be diverted to large corporations. Prior to Preston’s confirmation, a series of federal investigations and private studies found that many of the actual recipients of federal small business contracts were Fortune 500 corporations and their subsidiaries.
 
Despite a mountain of evidence pointing to the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations produced prior to his confirmation, Mr. Preston has failed to recognize or implement policies to stop such abuses.
 
The first congressional investigation into the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations was held on May 7, 2003. Since then there have been more than 400 stories in nearly every major newspaper and mainstream media outlet across the United States. Investigative reports by ABC, CBS and CNN have all found that billions of dollars in federal contracts intended for small businesses have actually gone to firms like: Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Rolls Royce, L3 Communications, British Aerospace Engineering (BAE) and Raytheon. (www.asbl.com)
 
Specifically, the American Small Business League and its members expect that Mr. Preston be held accountable for the continued diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations during his tenure at the SBA.
 
On May 11, 2007, the SBA distributed a press release titled "Myth vs. Fact: SBA and Government Contracting," which stated that it is a myth that, "Large companies, including large, multinational corporations are taking away federal contracts specifically intended for small businesses." Additionally, the press release stated that it was a myth that the SBA had proposed a grandfathering plan that would have allowed large firms receiving federal small business contracts to keep those contacts. (http://www.sba.gov/idc/groups/public/documents/sba_homepage/news_07-30.pdf)    
 
The SBA’s Myth v. Fact press release flies in the face of Report 5-15 from the SBA Office of Inspector general which stated, “One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration (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." Additionally, information on the SBA’s proposed grandfathering plan can be found in the Federal Register dated December 3, 2004. (Federal Register, volume 69, 70200, No 232) (http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-26609.pdf)
 
During the last two years, Mr. Preston has fostered the continued diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations. In June of 2007, Preston instituted a policy to allow Fortune 500 firms to keep their small business contracts for 5 more years. The policy was instituted despite recommendations for a policy that would have stopped the abuse in 2008 by: the SBA Office of Inspector General, the Office of Federal Procurement Policy, the Office of Management and Budget and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
 
In addition to these offenses, Mr. Preston has diminished transparency in the reporting of federal contracting numbers by removing the information the general public can use to determine whether a business is small or large in the Central Contractor Registration database, and by consistently refusing to release the names of the actual recipients of federal small business contracts.
 
   
 
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