PETALUMA, Calif., April 19, 2006 /PRNewswire/ The comment period for the General Services Administration's recent notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) ended Monday,
April 17, 2006. According to a GSA spokesperson, 98% of the 736 comments submitted were from angry small business owners demanding that the GSA adopt policies to end the fraud, abuse, loopholes, and lack of oversight that have been uncovered in eleven Federal investigations. Small business owners were concerned that the GSA may be adopting policies that would allow billions of dollars in small business contracts to be diverted to Fortune 1000 firms. The vast majority of the comments came in from supporters of the American Small Business League.

The response that the GSA received has echoed reaction to other agencies' proposed policy changes in the last 24 months. In 2005, the Small Business Administration proposed changes that would have negatively impacted small businesses, and again, over 95% of comments were against any attempt by the SBA to adopt policies that would divert Federal funds away from small businesses.

Lloyd Chapman, President of the American Small Business League, stated today, "I hope that this will send a message that is loud enough and clear enough that the GSA can hear it. Small business owners are sick and tired of policies that allow prime contractors and Federal agencies to report contracts with large businesses as small business awards. American's small businesses are fed up with this and they are not going to take it any more."

About the ASBL
The American Small Business League was formed to promote and advocate policies that provide the greatest opportunity for small businesses - the 98% of U.S. companies with less than 100 employees. The ASBL is founded on the principle that small businesses, the backbone of a vital American economy, should receive the fair treatment promised by the Small Business Act of 1953. Representing small businesses in all fields and industries throughout the United States, the ASBL monitors existing policies and proposed policy changes by the Small Business Administration and other federal agencies that affect its members.

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