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Mr. Chapman began his career working for legendary Texas political leader Bob Bullock. He spent eight years in the Texas Controller’s office, before moving to California 1986 to enter the computer industry. It was at this time that he first became aware of major problems in federal small business contracting programs, and soon became an advocate for small technology firms. In this role, he closely monitored federal “set-aside” contracts for small businesses. His work triggered a 1991 Congressional investigation into the F-22 Stealth fighter that forced the Air Force and Lockheed Martin to allocate an additional $501 million to small and minority-owned firms.
By law, the federal government is obligated to award a fair portion (currently 23%) of its contracts to small businesses. But a number of federal investigations and private studies have found that the government is reporting billions of dollars in contracts to large companies as federal small business awards.
In his continuing role as a small business advocate, Mr. Chapman spearheaded litigation to acquire information on small business utilization in government contracting. In 1993, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ruled against the Defense Logistics Agency, forcing it to release vital information documenting small business contracting awards. This has paved the way for greater participation by small businesses in federal contracting by exposing the lack of enforcement of congressionally mandated small business goals.
In 2003, information provided by Mr. Chapman prompted a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation confirming that, in direct conflict with the Small Business Act of 1953, a significant number of small business contracts were being awarded to some of the world’s largest corporations.
In order to form a coalition to promote fair policy in federal small business contracting, Mr. Chapman founded a trade group, the Micro Industry Suppliers Association, in 2003. When membership began to include businesses outside the computer industry, the name of the organization was changed to the American Small Business League in 2004.
A vocal crusader for the rights of small business, Mr. Chapman is a familiar figure at the Small Business Administration and in the United States Congress, where he has continued to work tirelessly during the last two presidential administrations to prevent federal small business contracts from being diverted to large corporations. He is regularly quoted by the media on small business contracting issues.
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"The SBA awarded
4 of the 6
high dollar procurements,
reported as small
business procurements,
to large companies
at the time of the
procurements.
SBA OIG Report 5-14
February 24, 2005
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