Pentagon And Sikorsky Identify Witnesses In Upcoming Trial, Reports ASBL
PETALUMA, Calif., Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pentagon and Sikorsky have identified four witnesses that will be providing testimony in the upcoming December trial in a case filed by the American Small Business League (ASBL). The ASBL filed the case after the Pentagon and Sikorsky refused to release Sikorsky's small business subcontracting plan submitted to the Pentagon's 28-year-old Comprehensive Subcontracting Plan Test Program (CSPTP). The ASBL believes the information will show the Pentagon has falsified the volume of subcontracts that have been awarded to small businesses since the program began in 1989.
In 2014, Pentagon spokeswoman, Maureen Schumann acknowledged that due to its lack of transparency and accountability, the CSPTP "has led to an erosion of our small business industrial base"
In 2015, the Pentagon revealed that the CSPTP had actually harmed small businesses when they released data showing subcontracts to small businesses have dropped by 50 percent. This information was released following the Pentagons statement that they want the CSPTP scrapped, acknowledging that there has never been any evidence that the program achieved its goal of increasing subcontracting opportunities for small businesses.
In a November 6, 2014 hearing Judge Alsup stated, "The purpose of the Freedom of Information Act is so the public can see how our government works. Congress passed this law to make small businesses have access to some of these projects, and here is the United States covering it up." Judge Alsup described the ASBL as being in a David and Goliath battle against the big government and big business and accused the Pentagon of suppressing evidence.
The Pentagon and Sikorsky are claiming the release of the data in Sikorsky's small business subcontracting plan would cause them substantial competitive harm. The ASBL has countered by exposing the fact that Sikorsky's contracts with the government are sole source contracts and Sikorsky has no competitors for their government contracts. The ASBL has also exposed the fact that the names of Sikorsky's subcontractors are publicly available on the Federal Procurement Data System.
The ASBL believes the Pentagons efforts to withhold the small business subcontracting data may be to obscure the fact that the Pentagon is allowing their prime contractors to subcontract with their own wholly owned subsidiaries or report awards to Fortune 500 firms and other large businesses as small business subcontracts.
The identified witnesses in the trial include: Janice Buffler - DOD Associate director of Subcontracting policy, Andrew Driver - Sikorsky Aircraft Senior Manager of Market Analytics, Amy Johnson - Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Director of Supply Chain and Martha Crawford - Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation Supplier Diversity Manager/Small Business Liaison Officer. Janice Buffler's deposition is set for August 21(st) 2017 in San Francisco, and the Trial is scheduled for December 11(th) 2017.
Contact:
Kyle Hilmoe
khilmoe@asbl.com
707-789-9575
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SOURCE American Small Business League
