PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 26, 2014/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pentagon has lost a landmark legal battle overnever seen contracting data submitted by many of their largest primecontractors.  San Francisco Federal District Court Judge, William Alsup, has ordered the Pentagon to release subcontracting data submittedby Sikorsky under the Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program(CSPTP). The American Small Business League (ASBL) requested the informationunder the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA.)

"In the hearing Judge Alsup expressed the opinion Pentagoncontracts are paid for by tax dollars and the American people have the right tosee how their tax dollars are being spent. I couldn't agree more," saidASBL attorney Robert Belshaw.

Judge Alsup's ruling will establish a legal precedent that willultimately lead to the release of all the subcontracting reports that have beensubmitted to the CSPTP by all of the Programs participants. Boeing, BAE Systems, GE Aviation,General Dynamics, Hamilton Sundstrand Corporation, Harris Corporation, L3Communications, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Pratt & Whitney,Raytheon and Sikorsky are current participants of the CSPTP.

"This case will pave the way for the the release of datathat will prove the Pentagon has falsified subcontracting data for 25 years andcheated American small businesses out of well over a trillion dollars insubcontracts," stated ASBL President Lloyd Chapman.

The Pentagon adopted the CSPTP in 1990 under the guise of "increasing subcontracting opportunities for small businesses."In reality the program eliminated all transparency on publicly available smallbusiness subcontracting information and any penalties for Pentagon primecontractors that failed to comply with federally mandated small businesssubcontracting goals.

Congress has renewed the CSPTP for 25 years even though thePentagon has consistently refused to release any data on the program. A 2004 GovernmentAccountability Office investigation reported, "Although the TestProgram was started more than 12 years ago, DOD has yet to establish metrics toevaluate the program's results andeffectiveness."       

In September, Professor Charles Tieferreleased 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… There is no doubt in mymind the CSPTP has significantly reduced subcontracting opportunities for smallbusinesses. It should not have gotten its 25 years of extension as anever-tested 'Test Program.' Let it expire."

The language in Chairman's Mark in the House Armed ServicesCommittee of the 2015 National Defense Authorization bill stated, "However,after nearly 24 years since the original authorization of the program, the testprogram has yet to provide evidence that it meets the original stated goal ofthe program..."

Both the House and the Senate have voted to renew the CSPTP intoits twenty-eighth year of testing as part of the 2015 National DefenseAuthorization Act (NDAA.) The ASBL has launched a national campaign to block the renewal of the CSPTP.

For more information contact ASBL attorney Robert Belshaw (415) 956-9590, ASBLCommunications Director Steve Godfrey (707) 789-9575, or SikorskySupplier Diversity Manager Martha Crawford(203) 386-3241.

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