Senate Drafts Legislation to Remove Large Firms From Federal Small Business Contracting

PETALUMA, CA--(Marketwire - November 6, 2007) - The following is a statement by the American Small Business League:

On Monday, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship announced that a public markup of S. 2300 the, "Small Business Contracting Revitalization Act of 2007," will be held on Wednesday, November 7th, 2007 at 9:30 a.m. The bill -- drafted by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee -- includes provisions that the American Small Business League has been lobbying for since 2002.

The bill is designed to improve oversight in federal contracting, reduce contract bundling, prevent misrepresentation in subcontracting, help service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses access to contract and subcontract opportunities, direct the Small Business Administration to implement women-owned small business program, extend the 8(a) contracting program through 2012 and strengthen the government's ability to enforce the size and status standards for small business certification, according to a Monday press release.

In May 2007, the ASBL launched a national campaign to encourage chambers of commerce across the country to contact their representatives in Washington -- in particular Senators Kerry and Snowe -- to support stemming the flow of federal small business contracts to large corporations.

In 2002, the ASBL was the first organization to expose the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations. Information supplied by Lloyd Chapman, Present and Founder of the ASBL, prompted the first GAO investigation and the first congressional hearing on this subject, which took place on May 7th, 2003. Since that time, there have been more than a dozen federal investigations that have found fraud, abuse, loopholes and a lack of oversight in federal small business contracting.

"I am pleased to see that S. 2300 includes all of the changes that have been recommended by the ASBL since 2002," President of the American Small Business League Lloyd Chapman said. "Every small business in the country needs to realize that they owe Senators Kerry and Snowe a debt of gratitude for drafting this legislation."

The ASBL intends to launch a national campaign to encourage its members and all small business owners to contact their representatives in support this legislation.

Contact Information: Contact: Christopher Gunn Communications Director American Small Business League (707) 789-9575