PETALUMA,Calif., Sept. 3, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TheAmerican Small Business League (ASBL)has launched a national campaign to prompt Congress to request aninvestigation of the Small Business Administration (SBA) by both the GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO) and the FBI.

TheSmall Business Act mandates that a minimum of 23% of thetotal value of all federal contracts be awarded to small businesses. By law 5% of all federal contracts should go to woman-ownedsmall businesses, 5% to small disadvantaged owned businesses, 3% to service disabledveteran-owned small businesses and 3% to HUBZone businesses. The SBA isresponsible for overseeing all federal small business contracting programs.

TheASBL believes the information uncovered in a series of previous federalinvestigations clearly indicated that officials at the SBA helped to coordinatethe diversion of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal small businesscontracts to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of large businesses. Basedon information the ASBL has obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, theybelieve senior SBA officials have systematically falsified government reportson the actual percentage of federal contracts awarded to small businesses inevery federal program to assist small businesses. 

Everyyear since 2005, the SBA Office of Inspector General has reported the diversionof federal small business contracts to large businesses as thenumber one challenge at the SBA and yet SBA officials have refused to adoptany policies to halt the fraud and abuse.

TheGovernment Accountability Office investigated the SBA and essentially accusedthe SBA of encouraging fraud in the federal program to direct 3% of federalcontracts to disabled veteran-owned small businesses. In GAO Report 10-108 theGAO stated, "By failing to hold firms accountable, SBA and contractingagencies have sent a message to the contracting community that there is nopunishment or consequences for committing fraud or abusing the intent of theSDVOSB program."

TheASBL believes senior SBA officials have intentionally and illegally defraudedsmall business out of hundreds of billions of dollars in federal contracts byusing fabricated terms such as "smallbusiness eligible dollars" to inflate the true volume of federalcontracts awarded to all categories of small businesses and intentionallyfalsify the government's compliance with federal law mandating small businesscontracting goals.

The Washington Post, The Hill, Government Executive, NBC, CNN, ABC, Fox News, MSNBC, RTTV and CNBC haveall reported on the abuses at the SBA.

TheASBL has mobilized a national campaign to encourage Chambers of Commerce andevery organization that supports small businesses, minority-owned, woman-ownedand service disabled veteran-owned small businesses to pressure Congress intoordering the SBA investigations.

TheASBL has launched an investigation of the SBA using theFreedom of Information Act (FOIA). To date the SBA has refused to fullycomply with any of their FOIA requests.

To view full press release, click here:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sba-facing-national-campaign-to-secure-gao-and-fbi-investigations-according-to-the-american-small-business-league-273722001.html