Petaluma, Calif. - According to the latest United States Census Bureau statistics, businesses with fewer than 20 employees account for 90 percent of all U.S. firms and are responsible for more than 97 percent of all new jobs. The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy released a report on the Census Bureau findings. (http://www.inc.com/news/articles/200708/data.html) 

CNNMoney.com and Inc.com released stories on the SBA report. (http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/30/smallbusiness/job_creation.fsb/index.htm) 

Since 2003, a series of more than 15 federal investigations have uncovered that the Bush Administration allowed billions of dollars in federal contracts earmarked for small businesses to be diverted to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of clearly large businesses around the world. (https://www.asbl.com/documentlibrary.html) 

Neither the House, nor Senate versions of the economic stimulus package contain any provisions to address the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms.  Additionally, the bills fall short of addressing the needs of America's top job creators.

Hundreds of stories chronicling the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants have been released by virtually every major newspaper in the country. (https://www.asbl.com/news.php) Major television networks like CBS, ABC, FOX and CNN have covered the story.
(ABC, https://www.asbl.com/abc_evening_news.wmv; CBS, https://www.asbl.com/cbs.wmv; FOX, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8y2F8zl2ebs; CNN, https://www.asbl.com/showmedia.php?id=1170)

In 2005, the SBA Office of Inspector General released Report 5-15, which described the diversion of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today." (http://www.sba.gov/IG/05-15.pdf) 

In February 2008, President Obama released the following statement, "Small businesses are the backbone of our nation's economy and we must protect this great resource. It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants." (http://www.barackobama.com/2008/02/26/the_american_small_business_le.php) To date, he has not proposed even a single policy to make good on his campaign promise.

Based on information obtained through a series of successful Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits against the Bush Administration, the American Small Business League (ASBL) estimates that every year up to $100 billion in federal contracts earmarked for America's top job creators are diverted to corporate giants in the defense industry.

On December 6, President Obama's transition team estimated that every billion dollars spent on federal infrastructure projects would create 40,000 jobs. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/07/us/politics/07radio.html)  

The ASBL estimates that a provision in the stimulus bill that would end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants could create up to 4 million new jobs.

The powerful lobby for the defense industry has successfully blocked any attempts at legislation to stop the flow of billions of dollars in government small business contracts to many of the largest defense contractors in the country.

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