No Takers on $10,000 Reward for SBA List of Small Business Contractors.

PETALUMA, Calif. -- It's been one week since American Small Business League (ASBL) president Lloyd Chapman offered a $10,000 reward for an accurate and verifiable list of firms the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Bush Administration allege received $79.6 billion in small business contracts in fiscal year 2005. So far, no one has come forward to claim the reward.

ASBL offered the reward to show that the majority of small business contracts the SBA claims were awarded to small businesses in 2005 actually went to corporate giants in the defense and aerospace industry. Thirteen federal investigations and reports by ABC and CBS have revealed that billions of dollars in federal small business contracts were awarded to firms such as Rolls Royce, Lockheed, General Dynamics, Titan Industries, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Wal-Mart and Raytheon. Officials within the SBA and the Bush Administration have consistently tried to deny these reports.

According to Lloyd Chapman, several government employees from various agencies have contacted him and expressed an interest in claiming the reward but no one has submitted the complete list. "The information provided so far is just what we expected and confirms the fact that the SBA is inflating government small business contracting statistics with awards to large corporations."

Chapman reported that one individual called and sounded as if he was reading information directly from his computer. He stated that Boeing was the largest recipient of federal small business contracts in 2005. Another individual, who sounded very knowledgeable, called and said that over half of the contracts reported as going to small businesses actually went to Fortune 1000 firms and other large businesses. All of the individuals Lloyd Chapman spoke with expressed some concern about losing their jobs if they provided information that would be unflattering to the Bush Administration.

"The facts about the Bush Administration's anti-small business policies are coming to light," Chapman stated. "The information that has been exposed so far indicates that up to $300 billion in federal small business contacts has been diverted to big business since President Bush was elected. This has forced thousands of legitimate small businesses to close their doors after losing contracts to Fortune 1000 firms.

"The Bush Administration has dealt another blow to small business owners across America by moving forward with plans to close the Small Business Administration (SBA), the only federal agency that exists to assist the 23 million small businesses where most Americans work. President Bush has gutted the SBA budget, terminated hundreds of SBA employees, and forced many SBA offices across the country to close. In fact, the SBA budget today is less than half of what it was when President Clinton left office.

"All small businesses owners, especially Republicans, need to quit listening to Bush's rhetoric, look at the facts and see what he is actually doing. Read the first paragraph of SBA Inspector General Report 5-15. In it, the SBA Inspector General states the diversion of small business contracts to large firms is one of biggest problems facing the SBA and the entire federal government today. George Bush and the Republican-led Congress are trying to repeal the Small Business Act and end all federal small business programs. The Bush Administration has duped small business owners into thinking all they need are tax cuts. Tax cuts won't do you much good when you're bankrupt."

About the ASBL

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.