PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 23, 2015/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Government Accountability Office (GAO)Director, William Woods, has recommendeda 25-year-old Pentagon Test Program that legal experts have described as a"sham" become permanent. The Pentagon has refused to release anyinformation on the controversial ComprehensiveSubcontracting Plan Test Program (CSPTP) for over twenty-five years.

The Pentagon adopted the CSPTP in 1989 after subcontractingreports on many of the Pentagon's largest prime contractors revealed thePentagon hadfabricated data to intentionally misrepresent the true percentage offederal contracts that had been awarded to small businesses.

The CSPTP was adopted under the guise of increasingsubcontracting opportunities for small businesses. In reality the programeliminated all transparency on Pentagon prime contractor's subcontractingprograms and eliminated any penalties for prime contractors that did notcomply with federally mandated small business subcontracting plans.

In 2004, the GAO-04-381 investigation found that the "DOD has yetto establish metrics to evaluate the program's results and effectiveness. As a result, there is no systematic way of determining whether the program ismeeting its intended objectives."

In September, Pentagon spokeswoman MaureenSchumann told The Washington Post, "Although the test program was started more than 12 years ago,DOD has yet to establish metrics to evaluate the program's results andeffectiveness."

In a subsequent interview for The Blaze, Schumann stated, "Although well-intended, the program has not producedquantifiable results. The Department of Defense position is to not havecongress extend the CSP."

After Woods recommended that Congress should consider making theCSPTP permanent, the Pentagon released a graphthat indicated since the test program began, subcontracts to small businesseshad actually dropped by 50 percent.

Professor Charles Tiefer,one of the nation's leading experts on federal contracting law, issued a legalopinion on the CSPTP. He stated, "The program is a sham and its extension will be seriouslyharmful to vital opportunities for small business to get government contractingwork... Let it expire."

Longtime small business advocate and Executive Director of the Small Business Technology Council, Jere Glover,stated, "I agree with the DOD. This program has resulted in reducing smallbusiness subcontracting by close to 50 percent and almost $50billion. This program should be terminated."

ASBL President, Lloyd Chapman,has been the most outspoken critic of the CSPTP. "Mr. Woods' motives andmethods in recommending the Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program bemade permanent appear very suspect. It would have been impossible for him toevaluate the effectiveness of the test program since the Pentagon has refusedto release any data that could be used to evaluate the program. The informationthat is available clearly indicates the Test Program is as Professor Tieferstated a "sham" that has cheated American small businesses out ofhundreds of billions in subcontracts over the last 25 years. I plan to ask theGAO Office of Inspector General to investigate Mr. Woods and his report."

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