American Small Business League Offers $10,000 Reward for List of Government's Small Business Contractors.

PETALUMA, Calif. -- The American Small Business League (ASBL) is offering a $10,000 reward to the first individual who provides a complete, accurate, and verifiable list of all firms that were coded as small businesses, and the amounts they were awarded in federal small business contracts, for fiscal year 2005.

According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), this information is publicly available on the Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation (FPDS-NG). However, the ASBL believes that the government is intentionally making this information difficult, if not impossible, for the public to access because the list will reveal that billions of dollars in contracts to defense mega-contractors including General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Bechtel, and Northrop Grumman, were reported as small business awards.

The ASBL has made repeated requests to new SBA Administrator, Steven Preston, to publicize the fiscal year 2005 list of small business contractors. To date, he has consistently refused.

ASBL President Lloyd Chapman stated, "The Bush Administration has been lying to the public, to Congress, and to the media about federal small business contracting figures. I don't believe that anyone will be able to produce a list to justify the claim that the SBA awarded $79.6 billion in contracts to small businesses in 2005. But the government insists that this information is readily accessible. I'm willing to pay $10,000 cash to see if someone is able to produce it."

To claim the reward, the list of federal small business contractors must total $79.6 billion as announced by the SBA in June of this year (www.sba.gov/news/06-45.pdf). In addition, the list must contain the names of the firms and the amounts they were awarded, consolidated by parent company name. Lists must be submitted to [e-mail] by midnight on December 1, 2006.

The American Small Business League has won a series of lawsuits against the government to force the disclosure of information that shows that billions of dollars in contracts that Congress intended to go to small business have actually been awarded to corporate giants.

About the ASBL

The American Small Business League was formed to promote and advocate policies that provide the greatest opportunity for small businesses -- the 98% of U.S. companies with less than 100 employees. The ASBL is founded on the principle that small businesses, the backbone of a vital American economy, should receive the fair treatment promised by the Small Business Act of 1953. Representing small businesses in all fields and industries throughout the United States, the ASBL monitors existing policies and proposed policy changes by the Small Business Administration and other federal agencies that affect its members. See www.asbl.com.