Republican Congress Predicted To Resurrect Regan Plan To Close SBA

ASBL's Lloyd Chapman To Oppose Republican Plan To Close SBA

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Nov 13, 2014, 07:15 ET

PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Small Businesses League (ASBL) President Lloyd Chapman is preparing a national campaign to resist a possible effort by the Republican controlled Congress to try and close the Small Business Administration (SBA).

Chapman believes the Republican Congress will resurrect former President Ronald Reagan's plan to permanently close the SBA by combining it with the Department of Commerce.

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According to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau, 98 percent of all U.S. firms have less than 100 employees. Those 28 million small businesses are responsible for over 90 percent of the nation's net new jobs, over 50 percent of the private sector work force and over 50 percent of the GDP. The Small Business Act mandates that not less than 23 percent of all federal contracts be awarded to small businesses.

"Awarding 23 percent of all federal contracts to small businesses is the most efficient and effective economic stimulus program in U.S. history. Dismantling the SBA and that program would be economic suicide," Chapman stated.

Former President George Bush Jr. tried to shut down the SBA by starving the agency of funds and staffing. The agency was crippled when their budget and staffing was cut nearly in half.

Bush allegedly told Hector Barreto, who was appointed to head the SBA, that he wanted the agency closed by the end of his first term.

Chapman and Barreto battled in the press over the Bush Administration's efforts to close the SBA and the Bush Administration's policy of diverting billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses. The SBA survived the Bush Administration and Barreto ultimately quietly left the SBA under circumstances that were never publicized.

A February 24, 2003 article in Washington Technology reported, "The General Accounting Office began its own investigation based on information Chapman provided, said David Cooper, director of GAO's Acquisition and Sourcing management office."

The GAO investigation uncovered over 5,000 large businesses were receiving billions of dollars in federal contracts that were being reported as awards to small businesses.

Since that original GAO investigation there have been over a dozen federal investigations that have found hundreds of Fortune 500 firms that were the actual recipients of federal small business contracts.

NBC, CBS,ABC, CNN,CNBC, MSNBC, RTTV and Fox News have all reported on the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.

Chapman believes the Republican Congress will attempt to close the SBA to obscure the hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse that federal investigations and the media have uncovered in federal small business contracting programs, primarily at the Pentagon.

"Its obvious the Pentagon is desperate to close the SBA to cover up over 20 years of blatant fraud and corruption in their small business contracting programs. I wouldn't be surprised if Senator Burr tries again to lead the Republican assault to close the SBA and kill federal small business programs," Chapman stated.

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SOURCE American Small Business League