A bigger Voice for Small Business

Supreme Court endorses SBA secrecy

by | May 18, 2011 | ASBL News

News

Supreme Court endorses SBA secrecy

By Doug Caldwell
Central Valley Business Times
May 18, 2011

•  Won’t hear appeal in phone records case

•  ‘We’ll continue to pursue this information until it is public’

Records of telephone calls by the public relations chief of the Small Business Administration, which the SBA moved into the control of an outside company, will remain secret.

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to review an appeal by the American Small Business League which has been trying to pry the records loose under the Freedom of Information Act.

The ASBL filed a petition to the high court in January after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the SBA was not required to disclose phone records held by a third party.

The small business advocacy group originally filed suit against the SBA after the agency refused to provide several years of telephone records for the agency’s press office director, Michael Stamler.

"The fact that the SBA was willing to go to the Supreme Court to withhold Mike Stamler's phone records shows just how damaging that information must be," says Lloyd Chapman, president of the Petaluma-based ASBL. "The SBA has played a pivotal role in allowing billions of dollars in fraud. We’ll continue to pursue this information until it is public and transparent."

The ASBL requested Mr. Stamler's phone records after a media professionals said he might have defamed Mr. Chapman, and deny the diversion of small business contracts to large corporates.

Throughout the course of litigation, the SBA has claimed that it does not have access to its own phone records, and is not required to supply that information under FOIA.

Source: http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=18450

Supreme Court Won't Hear Small Business Administration Phone Records Case

by | May 18, 2011 | Press Release



Press Release


Supreme Court Won't Hear Small Business Administration Phone Records Case




May 18, 2011


Petaluma, Calif. – The Supreme Court of the United States has announced it will not review an American Small Business League (ASBL) case against the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) over the agency’s refusal to release its phone records.  The ASBL’s lawsuit was filed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).


The ASBL filed a petition to the high court in January after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found the SBA was not required to disclose phone records held by a third party.  The small business advocate originally filed suit against the SBA after the agency refused to provide several years of telephone records for the agency’s press office director, Mike Stamler. (https://www.asbl.com/documents/20090312complaint.pdf)  


The ASBL requested Stamler's phone records after a series of media professionals complained that Stamler attempted to defame ASBL President Lloyd Chapman, and deny the diversion of small business contracts to corporate giants.  


Since 2003, a series of federal investigations have uncovered the diversion of billions of dollars a year in federal small business contracts to corporate giants. (https://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html) In Report 5-15, the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA IG) described the issue as, “One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today.”(https://www.asbl.com/documents/05-15.pdf)    


Throughout the course of litigation, the SBA has claimed that it does not have access to its own phone records, and is not required to supply that information under FOIA. Yet during 2010, the ASBL requested and received full and comprehensive telephone records from federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI) and the Social Security Administration (SSA).


The SBA has a track record of withholding documents that highlight its efforts to cover-up the division of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to corporate giants.  In February 2008, the SBA refused to release documents regarding the large recipients of small business contracts. In the court’s ruling against the agency, United States District Judge Marilyn H. Patel stated, “The court finds it curious the SBA’s argument that it does not ‘control’ the very information it needs to carry out its duties and functions.”


"The fact that the SBA was willing to go to the Supreme Court to withhold Mike Stamler's phone records shows just how damaging that information must be," Chapman said. "The SBA has played a pivotal role in allowing billions of dollars in fraud.  We’ll continue to pursue this information until it is public and transparent."


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Bernanke Policies Ignore Nation's Top Job Creators

by | Apr 28, 2011 | ASBL News, Press Release

Press Release

Bernanke Policies Ignore Nation's Top Job Creators

April 28, 2011

Petaluma, Calif. – At a press conference Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Benanke raised concerns that the high unemployment rate will likely persist in the face of slow job growth. To date, the economic policies of the Federal Reserve, and the Obama Administration have largely ignored the fact that small businesses create over 90 percent of all net new jobs.

“At 8.8 percent, the current unemployment rate is elevated… and progress towards more normal levels of unemployment seems likely to be slow,” Chairman Bernanke said.  (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/richard-adams-blog/2011/apr/27/ben-bernanke-press-conference-live) 

According to the latest figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses are responsible for over half of the private sector workforce, 50 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), 90 percent of exports and innovations, and 90 percent of net new jobs.  Ninety-eight percent of all U.S. firms have less than 100 employees.

Over the past several years, small businesses have received less than 5 percent of all money spent through various federal programs intended to stimulate economic growth. (http://money.cnn.com/news/storysupplement/economy/bailouttracker/) The economic recovery policies issued by the Federal Reserve and the Obama Administration have ignored U.S. Census Bureau statistics, and remained tightly focused on assistance for large firms. Large businesses have not created one net new job since 1977.

Small business groups like the American Small Business League (ASBL) support ending fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting programs as a means of directing federal infrastructure spending into the hands of small businesses, and creating jobs. Last year, Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) estimated that increasing contracts to small business by 1 percent would create more than 100,000 new jobs. The ASBL has estimated that addressing the diversion of small business contracts to large companies would raise the percentage of federal contracts awarded to small businesses by a staggering 18 percent, creating approximately 1.8 million jobs.
(http://sbc.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?a=Files.Serve&File_id=bc065833-dafc-46c5-9e6f-21209a532de2)

Since 2003, a series of federal investigations have uncovered billions of dollars a year in federal small business contracts actually flowing into the hands of Fortune 500 corporations and other clearly large businesses. In Report 5-15, the SBA Office of Inspector General (SBA IG) referred to the issue as, “One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today.” (https://www.asbl.com/documents/05-15.pdf) President Obama recognized the importance of the situation when he stated, “it is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.” (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php)  

“I think it’s shocking that Chairman Bernanke, President Obama, and Treasury Secretary Geithner have all missed the boat on focusing stimulus efforts on our nation’s chief job creators, its small businesses,” ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said.

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