The pro-Mitt Romney super PAC, Restore Our Future, has raised concerns among small business government contractors. Restore Our Future reportedly accepts contributions directly from large government contractors, which is in direct violation of a federal law that bans companies with federal contracts from making political expenditures.

“Large contractors should not be able to fund Mitt Romney’s campaign,” said American Small Business League (ASBL) President Lloyd Chapman. “Large companies want every single dollar the government spends, and allowing them to contribute directly to a candidate’s campaign is the same as allowing them to bribe their way into lucrative contracts.”

Government contractors have contributed a total of $890,000 toward Mitt Romney’s campaign, including $750,000 donated by Oxbow Carbon, a large company founded by billionaire William Koch. Oxbow Carbon contracts with the government to sell coal to the Tennessee Valley Authority, a federally owned corporation created by Congress.

Mr. Romney is already indebted to the large government contractors that are funding his campaign. The ASBL worries that if he is elected president, small businesses will not have a voice in Washington. Large companies already have several advantages over small companies, including lobbying power and vast financial resources. This imbalance has led to major problems for small business government contractors, including hundreds of billions of dollars in small business contracts being diverted large companies.

The federal government has a statutory goal of awarding at least 23 percent of government contract dollars to small businesses. However, since 2003 a series of federal investigations have found that, because of fraud, abuse, loopholes and lack of oversight of government contracting, large companies receive billions of dollars annually in small business contracts. The most recent data released by the Obama administration indicates that during FY 2011, Apple Inc., Chevron, General Electric, Bank of America, Lockheed Martin and many other large companies received government contracts meant for small businesses.

“These aren’t campaign contributions; they are bribes,” said Chapman. “If Mr. Romney is elected, you can bet that federal policy that allows Fortune 500 firms to win small business contracts will be extended.”

SOURCE: American Small Business League