PETALUMA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following is a statement by the American Small Business League:
The day after President Obama rolled out his jobs program, his administration quietly announced plans to eliminate the oldest and most successful program to create jobs for minorities. The administration plans to abolish a current federal law that requires the Pentagon, NASA and the U.S. Coast Guard to award a minimum five percent of federal contract dollars to minority-owned companies.
This is surprising since the unemployment rate for African Americans alone is 16.7 percent. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 35 percent of the U.S. population is made up of ethnic minorities. If the policy is enacted, thousands of minority-owned companies could be forced to close their doors and millions of minority workers are likely to lose their jobs. The American Small Business League (ASBL) estimates that this could cost minority-owned small businesses upwards of $50 billion annually in federal contracts.
The ASBL has launched a national campaign to block this policy and is reaching out to minority business leaders, Congress and the media. The small business advocacy group is also consulting with their attorneys to challenge the legality of the policy and block its implementation through an injunction.
Minority business leaders nationwide have until November 8, 2011 to comment on the proposed policy, which was announced in the Federal Register. The ASBL is concerned that the Obama Administration will implement the policy regardless of public pushback.
“I think it’s despicable that the Obama Administration tried to sneak this policy in under the wire by announcing it in the Federal Register on a Friday,” said ASBL President Lloyd Chapman. “They certainly did not hold a press conference or put out a press release when they announced this one, did they? My goal is to do everything we can to unite minority business owners nationwide to block the implementation of this plan. This policy is a prime example of why the minority business community is starting to lose patience and confidence in President Obama.”