N.Y. Times Finds Giants Among the Smalls Some of the largest government contractors, including Boeing, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and GTSI, won contracts last year that were intended for small businesses, according to a review of government data by The New York Times. In fiscal 2005, at least $4.9 billion worth of contracts, coded as small business, went to 13 of the largest contractors, the Times said in its July 6 report. In most cases, the companies said they had acquired a small business that held the federal contract. The report is the latest of many from inside and outside the government documenting the award of small business set-aside contracts to big corporations. Lloyd Chapman, president of the American Small Business League said the Times story simply confirms what he and other critics have alleged. Chapman has challenged SBA to provide the names of all companies that won contracts designated for small businesses. The Times identified 121 small business contracts going to Northrop Grumman, 47 for General Dynamics and 37 for Boeing. Gary Jackson, SBA assistant administrator for size standards, told the Times the agency has issued a new rule requiring companies to recertify their small business status when they merge or are acquired. “We’re not saying that the misreporting issue is not important, but you can’t say that the information shows that small businesses are losing business to large businesses,” he said. “It’s the policies that were in place. We think that the changes we’ve made will make the reporting of small-business contracts much more accurate.”