Bush Officials Fabricated Small Business Contracting Reports According to
Court Ordered Documents
PETALUMA, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- After losing its fifth
federal lawsuit to the American Small Business League (ASBL), the Bush
Administration has been forced to release more than 10,000 pages of documents
that list the recipients of federal small business contracts for fiscal years
2005 and 2006. Bush Administration officials at the Small Business
Administration (SBA) fought the release of the information, but United States
District Court Judge Marilyn H. Patel ruled in favor of the ASBL and ordered
that the information be released.
The information turned over by the SBA proves the ASBL's long-standing
claim that the Bush Administration has fabricated small business contracting
data and lied to the public, Congress and the media about the diversion of
federal small business contracts to some of the largest firms in the United
States and Europe.
"Our goal was to prove before President Bush left office that his
administration had fabricated reports and lied to the public, Congress and the
media. This information proves that the Bush Administration is responsible
for the diversion of more than $100 billion a year in federal small business
contracts away from middle-class America and into the hands of some of the
largest companies in the world," ASBL President Lloyd Chapman said.
The information the ASBL has received indicates firms such as Lockheed
Martin, Boeing, GTSI, Office Depot, L-3 Communications, Bechtel, and even the
world's third largest defense contractor, British Aerospace and Engineering
(BAE) have been the recipients of federal small business contracts.
Since 2002, over a dozen federal investigations have all found that
billions of dollars in federal small business contracts have actually wound up
in the hands of large businesses. During that time, Bush Administration
officials conducted a significant public relations campaign to deny these
findings. In May of 2007, the SBA went so far as to circulate a press release
titled, "Myth VS Fact: SBA and Government Contracting." The press release
stated that it is a myth that, "Large companies, including large,
multinational corporations are taking away federal contracts specifically
intended for small businesses." The information the ASBL has now received
clearly shows that these statements were blatantly false and that large
businesses in the United States and Europe were recipients of small business
contracts.
The ASBL will continue to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to
request more information from the Bush Administration and will file additional
lawsuits if those requests are denied. In addition to the damaging
information, four senior level Bush Administration officials have privately
told ASBL President Lloyd Chapman that between $65 and $110 billion a year in
federal small business contracts actually went to large businesses.
"After the release of this information I don't think that any spokesperson
for the SBA or the Bush Administration has any credibility left on this issue.
It seems that the SBA's press office has been lying about this issue for years
and cannot be believed anymore," Chapman said.
In March of 2007, Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Obama
released a statement that said, "98 percent of all American companies have
fewer than 100 employees. Over half of all Americans work for a small
business. 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." The ASBL will be turning this
information over to Senator Obama's office and asking for his help to close
the loopholes and stop the Bush Administration from further dismantling
federal small business programs designed to help middle-class Americans
receive government contracts.
SOURCE American Small Business League
Christopher Gunn, Communications Director, American Small Business League,
+1-707-789-9575, or cgunn@asbl.com
