House Votes To Renew "Sham" Pentagon Test Program Into 28th Year

Press Release

House Votes To Renew "Sham" Pentagon Test Program Into 28th Year

ASBL Opposes Renewal of 25-year-old "Sham"

By Lloyd Chapman
American Small Business League
December 9, 2014

PETALUMA, Calif., Dec. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- The House of Representatives has voted to renew the embattled PentagonComprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program (CSPTP) into its 28th year oftesting. The renewal of the CSPTP into 2017 was included in the House version of the 2015 National Defense AuthorizationAct.

The American Small Business League (ASBL) launched anational campaign to halt the renewal of the 25-year-old "TestProgram" in 2010.

As a test case the ASBL requested the most recent data submittedunder the CSPTP by Sikorsky Aviation Corporation under the Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA). The ASBL wanted to challenge the Pentagon's refusal to release any data on the"TestProgram" for more than a quarter of a century. The ASBL filed suit inFederal District Court in San Franciscoafter the Pentagon refused to release the data.

On Nov. 23, Federal District Court Judge William Alsup ruled in favor of the ASBL and ordered the Pentagon to release the Sikorsky data by December 3, 2014.

On Dec. 2, the Office of Solicitor General intervened onbehalf of the Pentagon and asked the court for a 60-day stay of the release of theinformation.

The release of the potentially damaging information on the 25-year-old"Test Program" on Dec. 3 would jeopardizethe renewal of the CSPTP by both the House and Senate before the Dec. 11 recess.

The ASBL believes the request for the 60 day stay was alsodesigned to halt the release of data that would prove the CSPTP had allowed thePentagon to falsify small business subcontracting data and defraud smallbusinesses out of hundreds of billions of dollars in subcontracts over the last25 years.

The negative publicity on the CSPTP has been so damagingPentagon spokeswoman Maureen Schumann admitted the Pentagon didnot want the program renewed, "Although well-intended, the program has not producedquantifiable results. The Department of Defense position is to not havecongress extend the CSP," she commented.

The Pentagon adopted the CSPTP in 1990 under the pretense of"increasing subcontracting opportunities for small businesses." Inreality the CSPTP did just the opposite by eliminating allinformation that had previously been publicly available that could be used to confirma prime contractor's compliance with their small business subcontracting goals.The CSPTPalso eliminated all penalties prime contractors had previously faced such as"liquidated damages" for failing to comply with theirsmall business subcontracting goals.

Professor Charles Tiefer,one of the nation's leading experts on federal contracting law released a legalopinion of the CSPTP that stated, "The program is a sham and its extension will be seriouslyharmful to vital opportunities for small business to get government contractingwork... Let it expire."

The Pentagon now has until January 22, 2015to release the Sikorsky data to the ASBL. By that time President Obama willhave signed the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) into lawrenewing the CSPTP into its 28th year of testing.

"I predict the Senate will also vote to renew the 'TestProgram' this week," said ASBL President LloydChapman. "This is an unprecedented example of fraud,corruption and broken government."

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