PETALUMA, CALIF., Feb. 10, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The American Small Business League (ASBL) has released their annual analysis of federal contracting data for fiscal year 2015. The ASBL's analysis is based on the latest data from the Federal Procurement Data System. They found in fiscal year 2015 Fortune 500 firms and thousands of clearly large businesses received billions in federal small business contracts. Their research found 151 Fortune 500 firms landed government small business contracts in 2015.
Verizon received over $108 million in small business contracts through their subsidiary Terremark. Some of the other firms that received small business contracts last year include: Apple, Microsoft, General Electric, Home Depot, AT &T, UPS, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Pepsi, Boeing, Oracle, Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Anthem and John Deere.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their first investigation into corruption and fraud in federal small business contracting programs in 2003. The GAO uncovered over 5,300 large businesses had been the actual recipients of billions in US Government small business contracts.
This year marks the sixteenth consecutive year that federal small business contracts have been diverted to corporate giants.
The SBA Office of Inspector General released Report 5-15 that described the diversion of small business contracts going to corporate giants as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the entire federal government today."
In 2014, Public Citizen released their investigation into fraud in government small business programs titled "Slighted." They accused the federal government of using accounting tricks to "create false impression that small businesses are getting their share of federal procurement money."
ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News and RTTV along with dozens of stories in many of the largest newspapers in the country have all reported on the fraud and abuse in federal small business contracting programs.
The House Small Business Committee recently unanimously passed H.R. 4329 titled, "Transparency in Small Business Goaling Act of 2016." That bill was supposed to modernize the Small Business Act, but it contained no provision to halt the flow of federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms and thousands of other large businesses.
The ASBL's research indicates middle class small businesses are being shortchanged out of up to $200 billion a year. This is a result of the SBA's exclusions of the majority of federal contracts from their calculations and the inclusion of billions in contracts to large businesses.
As opposed to adopting policies to end the rampant fraud, in 2014 the SBA adopted their Safe Harbor From Fraud Penalties policy that actually helps to protect fraudulent firms.
The American Small Business League plans to release a full-length documentary this spring that will chronicle the history of corruption and fraud in federal small business contracting programs.