The Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA IG) has released the latest in a series of investigations, which found billions in federal small business contracts have been diverted to corporate giants. The SBA IG investigation found that the SBA itself awarded federal small business contracts to large businesses.
Report 10-08 uncovered that during fiscal year (FY) 2008 the SBA awarded more than 30 percent of its contracts to large businesses, and 92 percent of the contract actions contained blatant errors. Additionally, the report found that during FY 2009 the percentage of misleading data jumped to a record 97 percent.
Since 2003, more than a dozen federal investigations have found the SBA played a key role in the diversion of billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts to large businesses around the world.
In Report 5-14, the SBA IG found that the SBA itself awarded small business contracts to large corporations. The report stated, "The SBA awarded four of the six high dollar procurements, reported as small business procurements, to large companies at the time of the procurements."
In Report 5-16, the SBA IG found that federal agencies had allowed large businesses to illegally receive federal small business contracts by making "false certifications," and "improper certifications."
In Report 5-15, the SBA IG referred to the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations as, "One of the most important challenges facing the Small Business Administration and the entire Federal government today."
Despite this series of federal investigations, the SBA has simultaneously claimed that the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations was a "myth" and the result of "miscoding." The SBA has never been able to explain why, for over a decade, 100 percent of the time the "miscoding" always reports awards to large businesses as small business awards.
There have now been over two dozen investigations, over the last eight years, which have found a clear pattern of blatant fraud and abuse in SBA managed programs. It is time for the FBI to step in and get to the bottom of this. To date, the Obama Administration has done nothing to halt these abuses.
Follow Lloyd Chapman on Twitter: www.twitter.com/LloydChapman
Claire Johnson: Small Business: Evolve and Change, or Fall Behind
My father did not see the possibility that online advertising offered his business. It's because of his experience that I keep encouraging business owners to take even a small step online.
President Barack Obama signed the new jobs bill today. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate failed to include provisions in the bill that...
Only a big government is worth corrupting.
If this DOES surprise you, you are probably the type of parent who gets a pinata for his kids, then wonders why one of the kids at the party got whacked in the head with a stick.
Lobbyists and big business have rewitten the constitution to read, "Government by SOME people, for SOME people, and PAID FOR by the rest of the people."
With real unemployment around 20%, and small businesses creating all the jobs in the economy, the people who have let this happen should be held criminally responsible for the state of the economy.
Obama's biggest contributors were Goldman Sachs and venture capitalists, who are reaping the benefits of buying a president like he was a cheap Blue Light special on aisle 32 sitting on a shelf between the Sham-Wows and the Jesus candles.
April 4th is approaching, the anniversary of the Great Dr. Martin Luther King.
We should honor his wishes and judge President Obama not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character.
If it is so obvious of what they are doing, why are they not being held accountable???
"We need to save small business", but in the next breath "here, let's line my pocket with more big business payoff".
patheic.
What is the incentive for honest dealings and ethical behavior? We already know the incentive for fraud and self-dealing - financial security and the high life, with government, law enforcement, and regulators turning a blind eye.
Okay then, I think we've got the message!
Prepare yourselves for the consequences.