Lloyd Chapman Fills Void in Washington To Protect Small Business Programs

PETALUMA, Calif., Nov. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Sept. 10, the Small Business Administration (SBA) proposed to change the small business size standard for Information Technology Value Added Resellers, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 541519 that would have forced up to 12,000 small businesses out of the federal marketplace.

If the SBA policy were adopted small businesses in the IT Industry with as few as ten employees would lose their status as small businesses and be reclassified as large businesses.  At the same time the SBA would continue to include billions of dollars in federal contracts to Fortune 500 firms as small business contracts as they have done for over 15 years.

No Washington, D.C. based organization that claims to represent the interests of small businesses opposed the new SBA policy in any way. No Washington based organization released any public statements of any kind opposing the anti-small business policy.  The SBA accepted public comments on the proposed rule from Sept. 10 until Nov. 10, and yet no Washington based organization that claims to represent small business interests posted a comment opposing the new rule in the allotted time.

The California based American Small Business League (ASBL) was the only national small business advocacy group that opposed the new SBA policy that could have been devastation to thousands of small businesses.

ASBL President and founder, Lloyd Chapman, launched a national campaign to oppose the SBA's policy change they described as "anti-small business." Chapman began issuing national press releases and doing radio interviews opposing the policy. Chapman retained Professor Charles Tiefer, one of the nation's leading experts on federal contracting law, to review the new SBA rule to determine if the SBA had the legal authority to propose a new rule that would be so detrimental to small businesses.

"This proposed SBA change breaks the law by violating Congress's statutory intent in the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010," Professor Tiefer stated in his comment. "The SBA does not give any market data or other persuasive reason for the elimination," adding that this rule does exactly the opposite of what Congress intended and that if adopted into a final rule, "small businesses will be squeezed out of the federal marketplace."

House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves joined Chapman in opposing the SBA's proposed policy.

"This latest SBA anti-small business policy is just the latest example the ASBL is the only organization in the United States that opposes federal legislation and policies that could be harmful to small businesses. The ASBL is the only organization to oppose the diversion of billions of dollars in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms that has been uncovered in dozens of federal investigations and investigative reports in the media," Chapman stated.

Chapman also launched a national campaign to oppose a "sham" Pentagon program that cheated small businesses out of billions of dollars and the SBA's "safe harbor from fraud" policy. In May, Lloyd Chapman was recognized by American Express as one of the four biggest voices for small businesses in Washington.

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SOURCE American Small Business League