Petaluma, Calif. – According to the latest federal data, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been awarding federal small business contracts to some of the largest companies in the world. Some of the firms the EPA has awarded small business contracts to include, Lockheed Martin, Nextel, Time Warner, Harris Corporation and General Electric.

In 2005, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBAOIG) referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." Moreover, the SBAOIG has reported that the problem has remained a number one challenge for the past seven consecutive years.

On the campaign trail in February 2008, President Obama promised to stop the flow of small business contracts to large businesses stating, "It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." Yet the most recent contracting data indicates that of the top 100 recipients of federal small business contracts, 72 were large businesses. In the past four years the federal government has awarded small business contracts to large companies, including Raytheon, Boeing, Italian defense giant Finmeccanica and Russian defense broker Rosoboronexport.

In July 2012, NBC's Bay Area Investigative Unit found that the federal government was awarding small business contracts to Oracle, IBM, Microsoft and several other large firms.

"When people listen to President Obama talk about reinvesting in the middle class and trying to create jobs, I want them to know that every day he has been in office he has given funds that by law should be awarded to small businesses to large corporations," said ASBL President Lloyd Chapman. "If President Obama were serious about creating jobs, he would simply quit giving small business contracts to the biggest companies in the world."