Open Letter to Martha Stewart from American Small Business League President Lloyd Chapman

PETALUMA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following is a statement by American Small Business League President Lloyd Chapman:

“It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.”

I saw you on CNN Monday night, and I was thrilled to hear what you had to say about small businesses. I agree completely with what you said—”we must look to small businesses.” We need more people like you in America backing small businesses.

I’m sure you know that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, small businesses are responsible for more than 90 percent of all net new jobs in America. The Kauffman Foundation did a study that found small businesses have created virtually 100 percent of all net new jobs since 1980. We also know that small businesses employ more than half the private sector workforce, produce half of the gross domestic product, more than 90 percent of U.S. exporters are small businesses, and 98 percent of U.S. companies have less than 100 employees. Small businesses are clearly the engine of economic growth in America.

Congress understood the importance of small businesses back in 1953 and passed the Small Business Act. Today, that law mandates that 23 percent of all federal contracts be awarded to small businesses. Unfortunately, since 2003, a series of federal investigations have found a large portion of federal small business contracts actually wind up in the hands of some of the biggest companies in the world. Some of the firms that have received federal small business contracts include AT&T, Boeing, Raytheon, Apple, Dell, Xerox, Office Depot, Motorola and John Deere.

What’s worse is the government has given small business contracts to giant foreign-owned companies, such as Italian defense giant Finmeccanica, Rolls-Royce and Rosoboronexport, a Russian state-owned weapons dealer.

I think the Small Business Act is the most efficient economic stimulus program in history. It certainly makes sense to invest a minimum 23 percent of federal purchases in the companies where most Americans work and most of the net new jobs are created.

In 2008, President Obama realized the magnitude of the problem and issued a statement that said, “It is time to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants.” Unfortunately, every year he has been in office, the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA OIG) has named the diversion of federal small business contracts to large businesses as the number one challenge at the SBA.

I would appreciate anything you could do and any advice you could give me to bring this issue into the presidential campaigns and the into media.

Again, thank you so much for your advocacy for small businesses, and please help us end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants. It would put more money into the middle class and create more jobs than anything President Obama or President Bush ever proposed.