PETALUMA, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 24,2014) - According to the American Small Business League, the Pentagon isrefusing to comply with a Freedom of Information Act request from theAmerican Small Business League (ASBL) for contractingdata on British Aerospace and Engineering (BAE).

The ASBL specifically requested themost recent subcontracting data submitted by British Aerospace under theComprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program (CSPTP). The Pentagon has alsorefused to release any data Lockheed Martin or Sikorsky have submitted asparticipants of the CSPTP.

The Pentagon adopted the CSPTP back in1990 as a test program. According to the website for the CSPTP, "The purpose of the test is todetermine whether comprehensive subcontracting plans will result in increasedsubcontracting opportunities for small businesses while reducing theadministrative burden on contractors."

The CSPTP has just two provisions.First, participating contractors are no longer required to submit publiclyavailable subcontracting reports that could be used to verify a firm's compliance with federal small businesscontracting goals. Second, contractors are exempt from any penalties such as "liquidated damages"for non-compliance with their small business contracting goals.

In essence, under the guise ofincreasing subcontracting opportunities for small businesses, the CSPTPeliminated all transparency and penalties for many of the Pentagon's largestprime contractors.

After nearly a quarter of a century,the Pentagon has never released any reports or analysis of the CSPTP. Both theHouse and Senate versions of the FY2015 National Defense Authorization Bill propose extending the CSPTP into its28^th year of testing.

Section 811 of the Chairman's Mark ofthe 2015 National Defense Authorization bill states, "However, after nearly 24 years since the originalauthorization of the program, the test program has yet to provide evidence thatit meets the original stated goals of the program..."

A 2004 Government Accountability Office investigationof the CSPTP also found no evidence the test program had ever increasedsubcontracting opportunities for small businesses. A story in Gov. Exec questioned thefuture of the program.

The ASBL has already filed suit in FederalDistrict Court in San Francisco against the Pentagon for their refusal torelease CSPTP data on Sikorsky.They will be filing two new cases against the Pentagon for refusing to complywith their Freedom of Information Act requests for data on Lockheed Martin andBritish Aerospace and Engineering.

ASBL President Lloyd Chapman stated,"Think of the magnitude of the scam the Pentagon has pulled off for 25years by removing all transparency and penalties on small business contractinggoals as a test to increase opportunities for small businesses. This is one ofthe most blatant cases of fraud and corruption Ihave ever seen in government."

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