PETALUMA, Calif. -- (AP) The following is a statement by the American Small Business League:
President Barack Obama's small business jobs bill contains a dangerous loophole that could encourage billions of dollars in fraud in small business contracting programs, and protect fraudulent companies from prosecution. The bill is currently pending in the U.S. Senate.
Section 1341 of H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act, contains provisions that would allow the Small Business Administration (SBA) to develop policies and procedures that would protect large businesses that have misrepresented themselves as small businesses from prosecution for felony contracting fraud.
Since 2003, over a dozen federal investigations have found billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts have been diverted to Fortune 500 firms, large businesses throughout the U.S. and some of the largest companies in Europe.
