PETALUMA, Calif., Dec. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/-- The Office of the Solicitor General has stepped in to help the Pentagonstall the release of what could be some very damaging information from theembattled 25-year-old Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program(CSPTP).

Federal District Court Judge William Alsup ruled in favor of the American SmallBusiness League (ASBL) in a Freedom ofInformation Act (FOIA) case after the Pentagon refused to releasesubcontracting data Sikorsky Aviation Corporations submitted under the CSPTP.

On Nov. 23, Judge Alsup ordered the Pentagon to release the Sikorsky subcontracting data to the ASBL by December 3, 2014.

On Dec. 3, the Office of theSolicitor General intervened and assisted the Pentagon to stall the release ofthe data. Judge Alsup then granted the Pentagon a 60-day stay on the release of thecontroversial data.

Now the Office of the Solicitor General and the Pentagon have 60days to decide of they will appeal Judge Alsup's ruling to the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals.  

The ASBL requestedthe Sikorsky data as a test case to challenge the Pentagon's refusal torelease any data on the "Test Program" in over 25 years. Prior to theimplementation of the "Test Program" all subcontracting data on all Pentagonprime contractors was publicly available. Before the "Test Program"was adopted the Pentagon's compliance with federal law that mandates a minimumof 23 percent of all federal contracts be awarded to small businesses wascontinuously challenged. Publicly available subcontracting reports on Pentagonprime contractors reflected small business subcontracting goals that wereroutinely less than one percent.  

The CSPTP was adopted under the pretense of  "increasing subcontracting opportunities for small businesses."Once the Pentagon adopted the CSPTP, all publicly available data onsubcontracting goals was eliminated along with any penalties such as "liquidated damages" prime contractors had faced forfailing to comply with their subcontracting goals.

Professor Charles Tiefer,one of the nation's leading experts on federal contracting law released a legal opinion that was very critical of the CSPTP."The program is a sham and its extension will be seriously harmful tovital opportunities for small business to get government contracting work...Let it expire," stated Professor Tiefer in his legal opinion.

"The information we are seeking is simply the percentage ofsubcontracts Sikorsky has awarded to small businesses. The Pentagon is fightingthe release of this data so aggressively because they know as I do that it willprove they have violated federal contracting law for twenty-five years andcheated American small businesses out of hundreds of billions insubcontracts," said ASBL President Lloyd Chapman.

The 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) includeslanguage renewing the Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program into its28^th year of testing, until 2017. Congresswill likely vote on the bill before the December 11recess.

The release of the Sikorsky data on December 3 could havejeopardized the renewal of the CSPTP.

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