PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 7, 2014/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- One of the nation's leading experts on federalcontracting law, Professor Charles Tiefer,has joined with American Small Business League (ASBL) President, Lloyd Chapman,to oppose a new round of SBA polices they believe will be devastating to thousands of small businesses. ProfessorTiefer served as Commissioner on the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Professor Tiefer strongly opposed a new SBA proposed policy that will put thousands ofInformation Technology Value Added Resellers (ITVARs) out of business. In thisnew anti-small business policy, the SBA is proposing to eliminate the exceptionunder NAICS code 541519 (Other Computer Related Services) and its 150-employeesize standard.

The policy was derived from Congress's intent in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 toincrease small business size standards. This proposed rule does exactly the opposite by "eliminating" the highersize standard of 150-employees and using the lower size standard of $27.5 million in receipts.

"If the SBA actually adopts a final rule eliminatingIT-VAR, this will have precisely the effect Congress did not want. The finalrule will decrease small business size standards in the 'solutions'sub-industry. Businesses that qualified, below the 150 employee standard, nolonger will," Professor Tiefer stated in his comment.

In the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, Congress's intent ofincreasing small business size standards was "to allow small businesses tocompete in the current federal marketplace." According to ProfessorTiefer, if the SBA adopts the final rule, "small businesses will besqueezed out of the federal marketplace."

The SBA doesn't provide any credible figures to back up theirreasons for proposing to eliminate ITVARs from NAICS code 541519, but in their 2003 final rule when they established the 150 employee sizestandard the SBA stated, "An employee size standard is considered a bettermeasure of the size of ITVARs operation than receipts since a substantialproportion of their receipts merely reflect the dollar value of equipment andsoftware sold."

"Eliminating the 150 employee ceiling puts the'high-employee-level' type of contractor out of business, because it cannot getdown under $27.5 million without a kind of radicalchopping it cannot handle – i.e., switching to a business model of feweremployees, and, laying off a third (50) or more employees," statedProfessor Tiefer.

In the federal marketplace there are many other sub-industriesthat do not have NAICS census data. This looks like an intentional attack onITVARs that make over $27.5 million in receiptswith no market data to prove otherwise, only the SBA's statement that "ithas created some inconsistencies, confusion, and misuse."

"Only IT-VAR is being eliminated. This unfairly andinconsistently punishes the 'IT Solutions' industry," Professor Tieferstates. "The patent unsoundness and unfairness of eliminating an entiresub-industry, not on the basis of the market, but just because the SBA hasproblems with data."

The last day to leave a public comment opposing this rule is Monday, Nov. 10.

To view full press release, click here: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nations-leading-federal-contracting-expert-opposes-sba-anti-small-business-policies-281929181.html