•  Says he has reneged on pledge to back federal contracting bill

•  ‘I am really disappointed in Governor Schwarzenegger's refusal’

A small business group says California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has gone back on a pledge to back a federal bill that the group says could bring jobs to California.

The American Small Business League says Mr. Schwarzenegger had promised to back H.R. 2568, the so-called “Fairness and Transparency in Contracting Act,” which it says would bring “billions of dollars” in additional federal contracts and thousands of jobs to California.

“The Governor's office originally pledged to back the bill once it was introduced into Congress, but has since broken its promise,” ASBL says.

The governor’s office has been asked by CVBT for comment.

The bill was originally drafted by ASBL to stop what is says is the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and other large businesses. H.R. 2568 was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in May of 2009. It currently has 24 co-sponsors, including five members of the California delegation, ASBL says.

H.R. 2568 would prevent federal agencies from continuing to divert small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms. The ASBL estimates that the bill's passage could create between 400,000 and 500,000 new jobs and provide California's small businesses with over $50 billion in additional contracts over the next five years.

"I am really disappointed in Governor Schwarzenegger's refusal to back this bill. This legislation would do more to direct federal infrastructure spending to small businesses in California than any other legislation proposed to date," says ASBL President Lloyd Chapman.

“California is having serious financial problems and this is a great solution that would bring money and jobs to the state," Mr. Chapman says.

 Source: http://www.centralvalleybusinesstimes.com/stories/001/?ID=15114