Carol D.Leonnig

WashingtonPost Government Accountability Reporter

Wednesday,October 22, 2008; 2:00 PM

WashingtonPost government accountability reporter Carol D. Leonnig was online Wednesday,Oct. 22 at 2 p.m. ET to discuss problems with the government's measurements ofits contracting work with small businesses.

Thetranscript follows.

Washington: In the article you mention theAmerican Small Business League ... how representative is this organization ofsmall businesses in the U.S., and why is its voice not heard more often -- andmore loudly -- on the issues you raise?

Carol D.Leonnig: I'd like to give a tip of the hat to The AmericanSmall Business League, which definitely has shone a light on this problem foryears and which is like a junkyard dog on the subject. It, and leader LloydChapman, will not give up.

That said, Ithink at times the organization has been viewed as so strident in its argumentsthat it has turned off some of its adversaries, and even some of its potentialallies. That's not my field of expertise, but I've picked up on that vibe inreporting on this relatively small community of folks who work in smallbusiness contracting.

Still, at thecore, despite the strong language and the as-yet unproven allegations ofwidespread government fraud, the league's complaints about the U.S. governmentoverstating small businesses' share of federal work have been validated timeand again by independent reporting.

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