Dear 2026 House and Senate Candidates,
Here is an issue that will help you win in 2026:
Expose the fact that billions of dollars in federal contracts, meant for small businesses, go to big businesses every year.
And reform and expand the Small Business Administration.
The SBA is supposed to ensure that 23% of federal contracts go to America’s small businesses every year.
Unfortunately, decades of Congressional investigations, SBA Inspector General reports, and our 100+ legal victories – we are the American Small Business League, ASBL.com – show, through fraud, bad policies, loopholes and lax oversight, the SBA falsifies compliance with the 23% goal. Small businesses might get as little as 3% of federal contracts, and big businesses might get 97%.
The SBA is the only agency dedicated to small businesses. It should NOT have its staff and budget cut. It should NOT be over-burdened with the $1.6 trillion student loan portfolio as proposed by President Trump. It should NOT get away with merely touting its loan programs. It should be challenged to show HOW it arrives at its claim of compliance with the 23% requirement, and reformed and greatly expanded.
23% of federal contracts would inject $345 billion into small businesses every year.
Total federal spending is $6.8 Trillion/year. (Source: perplexity.ai)
26% ($1.5 Trillion) is spent on CONTRACTS for goods & services from private vendors.
23% of contracts ($345 Billion) is supposed to go to small businesses.
But if big businesses get 97% of federal contracts ($1.455 Trillion), that’s $300 Billion (20%) a year – and TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS over the past 20 years – going to big businesses, who don’t create new jobs to perform those contracts, that should be going to small businesses, who DO create new jobs to perform those contracts.
99.9% of all businesses in America are small businesses (34.7 million).
They create at least two-thirds of all net new jobs, employ almost half of all workers, generate 44% of GDP, and pay the most federal income tax. (Big businesses are only one-tenth of one percent of all businesses, and a 2023 GAO study found that 34% of large, profitable corporations pay ZERO in federal income tax.)
With every 1% increase in contracts, small businesses create 100,000 new jobs, per the Senate small business committee Chair in 2010 (see source below). With an additional 20% of federal contracts, small businesses would create 2 million new jobs ON TOP OF THE TYPICAL 2 MILLION NET NEW JOBS CREATED EACH YEAR. If the monthly Jobs Report were doubled accordingly, the stock market would presumably rise accordingly, because it typically follows the monthly Jobs Report, and world markets would presumably rise accordingly, because they typically follow our stock market.
The future is big with promise.
Should 99.9% of all businesses get only 23% of federal contracts, OR MORE?
Should women – half the population and owners of 42% of all businesses – get only 5% of federal contracts, the current goal, OR MORE?
It’s easy to imagine you winning in 2026 if you run on a pro-small business platform, like this:
- Investigate all of the above (through the House and Senate, the Government Accountability Office, and the SBA Inspector General).
- Reform and expand the SBA.
- Increase the small business contracting goal from 23% to 33%.
- Change the definition of small business from 500 or less to 100 or less employees. 98% of all businesses have less than 100 employees. The average business has 10. Millions have no employees, just the owner.
- Make public the names of all firms coded as small businesses.
- Support annual re-certification for small businesses with existing federal contracts.
- Introduce legislation modeled on H.R. 3184 from 2011 to remove large firms from small business contracting.
We hope you take our pro-small business platform and win in 2026. We hope you mention us if you use the information above. And we hope you call or write when you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Bruce de Torres
Director of Communications
American Small Business League
ASBL.com
415-404-7733, x101
bdetorres@asbl.com
Some sources:
Giant Corporations Are Reaping Billions From Federal “Small Business” Contracts – Mother Jones
The Senate Small Business Committee Chair in 2010 said that every 1% increase in federal contracts to small businesses creates 100,000 net new jobs. Live link: By Mr.
SBA SMALL BUSINESS PROCUREMENT AWARDS ARE NOT ALWAYS GOING TO SMALL BUSINESS, REPORT NUMBER 5-14, FEBRUARY 24, 2005
asbl.com/wp-content/uploads/05-14.pdf
Live link: Microsoft Word - 05-14.doc
LETTER RE: LARGE BUSINESSES RECEIVE SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS, REPORT NUMBER 5-15 FROM HAROLD DAMELIN, SBA INSPECTOR GENERAL
asbl.com/wp-content/uploads/05-15.pdf
Live link: Microsoft Word - 5-15.doc