PETALUMA, Calif., Dec. 4, 2014/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Office of the Solicitor General has intervenedin a Freedomof Information Act (FOIA) case between American Small Business League (ASBL) President Lloyd Chapmanand the Pentagon.

Federal District Court Judge William Alsupordered the Pentagon to release data submitted by Sikorsky Aviation Corporation under the Pentagon's25-year-old Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program to the ASBL by December 3.

Judge Alsup has now granted a 60-day stay of the release of the data to give the Officeof the Solicitor General time to decide if they want to appeal Judge Alsup'sruling.

"The Solicitor General and the Pentagon know they have nochance of winning an appeal in this case. The 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 1994 that small business subcontracting datacannot be withheld under the Freedom of Information Act," said Chapman."The Pentagon is simply stalling the release of what they know will bevery damaging information and probably clear evidence of fraud by the Pentagon until Congress approves the renewal of the Comprehensive SubcontractingPlan Test Program before the December 11^th recess."

The ASBL selected Sikorsky at random as a test case to challengethe Pentagon's refusal to release any data on the CSPTP since it began in1990.

The CSPTP was adopted by the Pentagon under the pretense of"increasing subcontracting opportunities for small businesses."All available information indicates the program did just the opposite. Fortwenty-five years the CSPTP has eliminated all data that had been previouslyavailable to the general public that could be used to track a primecontractors' compliance with federally mandated small business subcontractinggoals. The CSPTP also eliminated all penalties prime contractors had previouslyfaced, such as liquidated damages, for failing to comply with their smallbusiness subcontracting goals.

A 2004 GAO investigation and language in the Chairman'sMark of the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) acknowledgedthere is no evidence in the program's twenty-five year history that it has everbenefited small businesses.

In September, Professor Charles Tiefer,one of America's leading experts on federal contracting law released a legal opinion of the CSPTP that stated, "The programis a sham and its extension will be seriously harmful to vital opportunitiesfor small business to get government contracting work... Let it expire"

A victory for the ASBL in the Sikorsky case will lead to the release ofall the data submitted to the CSPTP. Chapman believes the data will provethe Pentagon has falsified the agencies compliance with federal law thatmandates a minimum of 23 percent of all federal contracts be awarded to smallbusinesses. Current participants in the CSPTP include: Boeing, BAESystems, GE Aviation, General Dynamics, Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, HarrisCorporation, L3 Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pratt &Whitney, Raytheon and Sikorsky.

The Pentagon now has until January 22, 2015to turn over the Sikorsky data to the ASBL.

ASBL documentary trailer

To view full press release, click here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/solicitor-general-helps-pentagon-stall-release-of-damaging-subcontracting-data-300004653.html