National Coalition Requests That the Small Business Administration Stop Fabricating Small Business Contracting Numbers ...

PETALUMA, CA--(Marketwire -06/07/12)- The following is a statement by the American Small Business League:

A coalition of small business advocates, trade organizations, businesses and non-profit organizations led by the American Small Business League (ASBL) has sent letters to the Small Business Administration (SBA), Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requesting greater transparency in federal small business contracting. This precedes the release of the SBA's annual Small Business Procurement Scorecard, which is due out this summer and known for overstating the percentage of contract dollars awarded to small businesses.
www.asbl.com/karenmills.pdf
www.asbl.com/jeffreyzients.pdf
www.asbl.com/joejordan.pdf

"The government must ensure that small business data is accurate and timely -- small businesses and the public deserve to know whether the government is actually close to small business contracting goals," said Scott Amey, General Counsel at the Project on Government Oversight (POGO). "Moreover, enhanced competition and small business opportunities are good for taxpayers and great for the economy."

The federal government has a statutory goal of awarding 23 percent of the total value of all prime contract dollars to legitimate small businesses, but has never accomplished this goal. To make matters worse, the SBA overstates the percentage of federal contracts awarded to small businesses by including contracts awarded to large businesses. The SBA also overstates the percentage of contracts awarded to small businesses by dramatically understating the federal acquisitions budget, including classified and unclassified contracts.

"It is important to accurately report federal agencies' priorities and performance levels in meeting the 23 percent small business goal set by Congress in 1997 that goes unmet year after year," said Roger A. Campos, President & CEO of the Minority Business RoundTable. "Failing to meet these goals has cost America's small and minority businesses billions in lost opportunities."

Since 2003, more than a dozen federal investigations have found billions of dollars in federal small business contracts flowing into the hands of corporate giants. Following fiscal year 2011, which ended in September, the SBA Office of Inspector General named the fact that procurement flaws allow large firms to obtain small business awards and agencies to count contracts performed by large firms towards their small business goals as the SBA's top management challenge for the seventh consecutive year.

"During his campaign, President Obama promised to end the diversion of federal small business contracts to corporate giants," said Lloyd Chapman, President of the ASBL. "It is time for President Obama to force the SBA to stop fabricating these numbers. They need to tell the truth, which is that small businesses get a small fraction of what the SBA says they do."

The undersigned individuals and organizations have endorsed this effort:

American Small Business League (ASBL)
Project on Government Oversight (POGO)
Minority Business Round Table (MBRT)
Fairness in Procurement Alliance (FPA)
Charles Tiefer, Professor of Government Contracting, University of Baltimore Law School
Oregon State Chamber of Commerce
Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce
North Clackamas County Chamber of Commerce
Leadville/Lake County Chamber of Commerce
Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce
Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce
The Blount Partnership
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Minnesota
Regional Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (Southern California)
Business Coalition for Fair Competition (BCFC)
Mechanical Contractors Association of America (MCAA)
African American Chamber of Commerce of Western Pennsylvania
Queens Chamber of Commerce
Eyes Cream Shades
Public Citizen
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for Ohio
Washington (Il) Chamber of Commerce
Ayden Chamber of Commerce
Melbourne Regional Chamber of East Central Florida

View the original article here

U.S. Small Business Administration and United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Join Forces to Cultivate Hispanic Business - YAHOO!

To: BUSINESS, LABOR AND NATIONAL EDITORS

WASHINGTON, March 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) today announced that they have signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM) that will support thousands of Hispanic small businesses and entrepreneurs, enabling them to expand and create more jobs.

"The Memorandum signals SBA's renewed commitment to ensuring that Hispanic business has access to the same opportunities to succeed," said Javier Palomarez, President and CEO of the USHCC. "And while there is work to be done, we are confident that Hispanic entrepreneurs will provide a great return on this investment. These businesses not only fuel the American economy, but are also at the leading edge of our recovery."

The SBA is charged with helping to support and protect the interests of small businesses by providing financial and business development assistance, and contracting opportunities to this key group of entrepreneurs. Through this collaboration, the SBA and USHCC will work with national and local Hispanic organizations to increase Hispanic-owned small business participation in SBA programs, including:

-- loan programs and access to capital initiatives; -- government contracting programs like the 8(a) program and the Women-Owned Small Business Program; and -- international trade opportunities to achieve the goals of the President's National Export Initiative.

Mr. Palomarez believes that the alliance will help mine untapped potential. "Despite the challenges brought about by the recession, Hispanic businesses have still managed to thrive, growing over 44 percent in the past five years and generating new ventures three times faster than the general population."

Fueled by the 3 million Hispanic businesses, purchasing power has also risen from $212 billion in 1990 to over a trillion dollars today. In addition, small business represents 64 percent of all jobs in America and Hispanic small business is the fastest-growing segment in that sector.

About The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Founded in 1979, the USHCC actively promotes the economic growth and development of Hispanic entrepreneurs and represents the interests of over 3 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the United States that combined generate in excess of $420 billion annually. It also serves as the umbrella organization for more than 200 local Hispanic chambers and business associations in the United States and Puerto Rico. For more information, visit www.ushcc.com.

SOURCE United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

-0-

View the original article here

First Marblehead Sells Legacy Trust Administration Business for $13.7 Million in Cash

BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire -03/02/12)- The First Marblehead Corporation (NYSE: FMD - News) today announced the sale of First Marblehead Data Services, Inc. ("FMDS"), its legacy trust administration business, to Route 66 Ventures, Inc., d/b/a Goal Structured Solutions ("GS2"), for $13.7 million in cash. The Company expects to record a gain of approximately $12.5 million in the quarter ending March 31, 2012 related to this transaction.

"The sale of FMDS is in line with our strategic focus on new business opportunities and product lines that are critical to the future success of First Marblehead," said Daniel Meyers, President and CEO of the Company. "While FMDS has historically been a profitable complement to our private student loan securitization business, we would not expect FMDS to administer future securitization trusts that we may facilitate in connection with our Monogram® platform. This sale allows the Company to continue to focus on the future, and redeploy resources for growing the business."

"We are excited by this opportunity to expand our trust administration business," said Ken Ruggiero, CEO of GS2. "Since our founding, we have been critically focused on this business and believe the investments we have made to date in people, process and technology will enable us to efficiently integrate FMDS while continuing to provide the same high level of service that our customers have come to expect."

About The First Marblehead Corporation - First Marblehead helps meet the need for education financing by offering national and regional financial institutions and educational institutions the Monogram® platform, an integrated suite of design, implementation and credit risk management services for private label, customizable private education loan programs. For more information, go to www.firstmarblehead.com. First Marblehead supports responsible lending and is a strong proponent of the smart borrowing principle, which encourages students to access scholarships, grants and federally-guaranteed loans before considering private education loans; please see www.SmartBorrowing.org. Through its subsidiary, Union Federal(SM) Savings Bank, First Marblehead offers private education loans, residential and commercial mortgage loans, and retail savings, money market and time deposit products. For more information, go to www.unionfsb.com. First Marblehead also offers outsourced tuition planning, billing and payment technology services, as well as refund management services, through its subsidiary Tuition Management Systems LLC. For more information, go to www.afford.com.

About Goal Structured Solutions - Goal Structured Solutions provides trust administration, loan management, performance analytics and capital markets advisory services to the student loan finance market. Its services are used by investors and issuers to more effectively manage their returns, asset performance and compliance. Founded in December 2007 and based in San Diego, CA, the company manages over $19 billion in federal and private student loans across more than 40 trust structures.

Statements in this press release regarding First Marblehead's strategy and future financial and operating results, including the expected gain from the sale of First Marblehead Data Services, Inc. to Route 66 Ventures, Inc. d/b/a Goal Structured Solutions (the "Transaction"), the redeployment of resources and the future growth of First Marblehead's business, as well as any other statements that are not purely historical, constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based upon our historical performance and on our plans, estimates and expectations as of March 2, 2012. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be regarded as a representation by us or any other person that the future results, plans, estimates, intentions or expectations expressed or implied by us will be achieved. You are cautioned that matters subject to forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including economic, legislative, regulatory, competitive and other factors, which may cause actual financial or operating results, including gains, efficiencies or benefits related to the Transaction, or the timing of events, to be materially different than those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include: market acceptance of, and demand for, our Monogram platform and fee-based service offerings; the volume, timing and performance of facilitated student loans; capital markets conditions and our ability to structure securitizations or alternative financings; the size, structure and timing of any such securitizations or alternative financings; any investigation, audit, claim, regulatory action or suit relating to the transfer of the trust certificate of NC Residuals Owners Trust or the asset services agreement between the purchaser and First Marblehead, including as a result of the audit being conducted by the Internal Revenue Service relating to tax refunds previously received; our ability to execute our business strategies, redeploy resources and otherwise realize the anticipated benefits of the Transaction; our successful performance of our obligations under agreements relating to the Transaction, including a transition services agreement; post-closing purchase price adjustments and our indemnification obligations in connection with the Transaction; and the other factors set forth under the caption "Part II - Item 1A. Risk Factors" in First Marblehead's quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2012. We specifically disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date of this press release, and you should not rely on those statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

View the original article here

Govsphere receives HUBZone Certification from the U.S. Small Business Administration - YAHOO!

The U.S. Small Business Administration officially ceritified Govsphere as a HUBZone small business. This designation will allow Govsphere to compete for HUBZone small business set-aside contracts with Federal, State, and Local government agencies while expanding Govsphere's corporate operations based in Central New York.

Syracuse, New York (PRWEB) February 29, 2012

Govsphere, Inc. today announced that it has received its official HUBZone certification through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZone) program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. These preferences go to small businesses that employ staff who live in a HUBZone and maintain a principal office in one of these designated areas.

Govsphere’s new SBA HUBZone designation means that Federal, State, & Local government agency contracting officers and contracting specialists will have a streamlined vehicle to access the products and services offered by Govsphere and its alliance partners. Furthermore, SBA-certified HUBZone firms are eligible to receive both competitive and sole-source contract awards from the Federal government as well as a 10% pricing preference on full and open competitive solicitations. As a result, Govsphere is well positioned to assist Federal agencies in meeting their small business contracting goals and objectives, which includes allocating more than $12 billion in contract awards to SBA-certified HUBZone firms in 2012.

According to Mr. George Mazevski, President and CEO, “Through our long-standing partnership with the SBA, we are honored to become a part of their HUBZone program. Govsphere’s HUBZone certification will allow us to compete more effectively against larger firms in the Federal government marketplace while affording us the opportunity to expand our corporate operations and community service initiatives in Central New York. As a result, we have increased our growth projections for the 2012 calendar year and expect that we will hire an additional 10 to 15 employees at our headquarters office in downtown Syracuse.”

About Govsphere, Inc.

Govsphere is a management, strategy, and information technology consulting firm that delivers innovative solutions to meet the complex needs and challenges facing today’s federal, state, and local government agencies. Specializing in the development of robust information sharing and collaboration systems, Govsphere provides tailored solutions that are specifically designed to streamline business processes, enable operational efficiencies, and break down information stovepipes. Govsphere’s growing list of clients includes the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the White House, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Guard Bureau, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Visit our website at http://www.govsphere.com for additional information.

###

Meredith Charles
Govsphere
(800) 850-8591 101
Email Information

View the original article here