USA : Billions in fraud ignored by Congress
October 24, 2006 |  |
The American Small Business League, in concert with the U.S. Women's Chamber of Commerce and other small business groups around the nation, has put forth a scorecard on the lack of legislation enacted by the 109th Congress to address the myriad of problems facing small firms across the country.
In particular, lawmakers failed to produce one piece of legislation to address the Bush Administration's annual diversion of between $50 to $100 billion in federal small business contracts to firms such as Lockheed, Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, Wal-Mart, and Rolls-Royce.
The scorecard covers nine votes held during the 109th Congress that were specifically geared to assist small businesses. Most of the legislation failed to pass, despite the fact that Republicans held the majority in both houses of Congress.
This outcome has left America's entrepreneurs wondering why their concerns have been so dismally neglected, particularly when Republicans have promoted themselves as the party of small business.
"I think that the 109th Congress has intentionally ignored the most critical issues facing small firms in America today."
"There have been 13 federal investigations that have found widespread fraud, abuse, and loopholes that have resulted in billions of dollars in small business contracts being diverted to Fortune 500 corporations. It's appalling that Congress has failed to take even a single step to address this," stated Lloyd Chapman, ASBL President.
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