Kerry Blasts Bush Administration on Small Business Development Oversight

[kerrygoddess]

Kerry Blasts Bush Administration on Small Business Development Oversight
March 31st, 2006 @ 8:47 pm

John Kerry, Ranking Democrat on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, called on the Bush Administration today, to take steps to address a pattern of poor and non-existent oversight of small business contracting programs. Kerry sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) head Hector Barreto expressing his concerns that the government is ignoring its responsibility to enforce regulations in its cornerstone business development program, as outlined in a March 16, 2006 report by the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

“Incompetence, ineffective leadership, inept management in responding to Hurricane Katrina, and a complete dereliction of duty by the Bush Administration to oversee federal contracts is hurting our small businesses,” said Kerry. “In case after case, reports like this one from the SBA’s own inspector general find significant failures in this Administration’s oversight. This latest report proves the Administration is hurting the very program that helps minority and women-owned firms access federal contracts. The Administration offers lip service about doing more with less, but it’s America’s small businesses that get less with more - less oversight, less accountability, less opportunities and more red tape, more failure, and more disappointment.”

The nation’s top program for socially and economically disadvantaged firms, the 8(a) Business Development program is key to helping African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, and women owned businesses gain access to contracts with federal agencies.

MORE - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2487

[TayTay]

1. Hector, Hector, Hector. Just resign now and save us the grief.

Honestly, Hector Barreto is the most incompetent boob ever appointed. His appearances at the SBA hearings are true marvels of grossly overstated boob-ery (Booberosity?)

Honestly, I don't understand how Hector can keep dragging his sorry behind up Capitol Hill for hearings at the SBA. He must drink heavily the night before. He is just sooooo freakin bad it would be funny if it wasn't about real people's lives. Sigh!

[kerrygoddess]

2. LOL!

Oh I needed a good laugh at the end of this miserable week! He's an ass.

[ProSense]

3. Coverage, but I guess

it's too much to expect them to use the quote from the OP.

IN BRIEF: NEED-TO-KNOW NEWS FOR THE ENTREPRENEUR

Report: Federal agency bypasses small businesses

Tribune wire reports
Published April 3, 2006

Small businesses lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in Energy Department contracts each year because the government often gives no-bid work to large firms on flimsy grounds, according to congressional auditors.

A report by the Government Accountability Office, obtained last week, looks at small-business contracting practices at the department, whose $22.8 billion in annual awards for research, nuclear weapons maintenance and environmental cleanup make it the largest civilian contracting agency.

The report says the agency failed to meet small-business contracting goals of 5.5 percent or lower in four of the last five years due to lack of controls, poor planning and questionable assumptions that smaller firms couldn't effectively handle the jobs. The Energy Department "is clearly constrained by the department's traditional reliance on a limited group of large firms and universities to manage high-cost projects in which public safety and national security are important concerns," according to the 39-page report, scheduled to be released this month.

"This administration gives big businesses all the breaks and gives small businesses the shaft," said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the top Democrat on the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0604030130apr03,1,6166962.story?coll=chi-business-hed

[kerrygoddess]

4. I think this is two different things

I reported on this story from the Trib a few days ago - it was in another news source and the following day I got the PR from JK's office. I almost put them together, but the news wire story is about Energy Dept contracts and the actual report has not been released yet. I couldn't find exact correlation, but the actual news story was out before JK's letter. Confusing.