The General Services Administration has eliminated a significant aspect of its Federal Procurement Data System - Next Generation, which keeps track of federal contracts. A "small business flag," which indicated the size of contracted organizations, will not appear on future official records and has been deleted from historical data.

More than a dozen federal investigations and reports have found that the small business flag was used fraudulently, diverting billions of dollars a month in federal small business contracts to Fortune 500 firms. Without the flag it will become significantly more difficult to monitor federal contracting data. Further, GSA has forced firms that obtain this data to sign an agreement preventing them from releasing certain facts, such as the percentage of federal contracts awarded to small businesses.

The Small Business Act stipulates that at least 23 percent of the "total value of all prime contract awards for each fiscal year" go to small businesses. "It is time for President Obama to make good on his campaign promise," says ASBL President Lloyd Chapman.