The ASBL Podcast with Lloyd Chapman and Bruce de Torres

Bruce

Lloyd Chapman is Founder and President of the American Small Business League (ASBL.com), working to stop the diversion of small business contracts to big businesses. Our DontCheatWomen.com project seeks to raise from 5% to 15% the federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses.   Bruce de Torres is Director of Communications for the American Small Business League and author of GOD, SCHOOL, 9/11 AND JFK: The Lies That Are Killing Us and The Truth That Sets Us Free. (Read the amazing reviews at brucedetorres.com.)

  1. ASBL 60, William Marks, Recent Candidate in Texas, District 25, March 16, 2026

    MAR 17

    ASBL 60, William Marks, Recent Candidate in Texas, District 25, March 16, 2026

    ASBL 60, William Marks, Recent Candidate in Texas, District 25, March 16, 2026 The American Small Business League (www.ASBL.com) spoke with William Marks, who ran for Congress as a Democrat in Texas, District 25, in the recent primary. (Dion Sims won.) William is a decorated combat veteran and award-winning navy communicator with 22 years in the military before working for six years at Meta. His website is www.WilliamMarks.com. What are your takeaways, lessons from your recent campaign? As a candidate for the House, you can be competitive in three ways. First, have two hundred thousand dollars to spend on day-one. You can hire a team. Build infrastructure. Set up your technology stack. And attract more money. “It takes money to get money.” The second way to be competitive on day-one is to already be famous. A celebrity. An athlete. An astronaut. Already have name recognition. The third way can be called the organic way, which is to have lived in the same area for decades and built up a large network. It helps if you’re maybe a small business owner or a teacher, something like that, where you interact with the public quite a bit. “I started out with none of those things,” William said. “But the Republican incumbent (Roger Williams) had not had a challenger since 2020. And I felt that the people at least deserve a choice. So, I decided to run.” To run a lean campaign. Use social media for all the free marketing possible. Do it full-time. William is a good public speaker. He did over 200 personal events over seven or eight months. He walked 380 miles. After 3 or 4 months of campaigning, Republicans in Texas redrew the district to try to win more seats. Now William was unknown in much of the new district. He had been campaigning in its old lines to people who now couldn’t vote for him. “But when people met me and heard my positions, they got on the team. They were very enthusiastic.” Primaries are less about your positions, more about name recognition. William ran against someone who had ninety years of family name recognition, Dion Sims. “I’m confident the Democratic party will flip the House.” The American Small Business League called the office of Republican incumbent Roger Williams recently about our www.DontCheatWomen.com goals (see below). He’s the chairman of the House Small Business Committee. Basically, we were told, that sounds DEI. We’re Republicans. So, we’re not going to do anything about that. William said, “Roger Williams is no friend of small business.” He inherited a car dealership that makes him a millionaire many times over.

    44 min
  2. ASBL 59 Amanda Bell, House Candidate, Wisconsin District 6

    MAR 9

    ASBL 59 Amanda Bell, House Candidate, Wisconsin District 6

    ASBL 59 Amanda Bell, House Candidate, Wisconsin District 6 Amanda Bell is running for Congress as a Democrat in Wisconsin’s 6th District, where she was raised on a farm, then worked in local factories, then for 25 years she was with the U.S. Geological Survey, rising to Deputy Director of that multi-state federal agency, leading teams that studied and protected our nation’s most vital natural resources. Her website is www.AmandaBellForCongress.org. Highlights of our conversation: Amanda’s top priority is going out and listening to the people in her District, to show them that that’s what she will do as their Representative. “It’s time for politicians to be quiet and just listen to what people are struggling with.” Amanda’s whole career has been about public service. Helping others. “We should have elected officials whose hearts sing because they get to help others, rather than just trying to get ahead in their careers.” Her parents taught to do a good hard work every day. Her community taught her to make sure that her neighbors were okay. When someone was injured or their house burned down, they all got together to make sure those neighbors had what they needed to get back on their feet. That’s the kind of public servant that America is looking for (and the kind that Amanda will be). Professionally, Amanda focused on being a good steward of our land and resources (among her top priorities for the House). Clean air. Clean water. Without them, we will not survive. The quality of American education is another priority. The next generation must be given the highest quality foundational knowledge and experiences. Also important is a strong economy, with emphasis on the health of our small businesses. Everything is rising in cost. Good-paying jobs are essential. Why did you choose to run? Things changed quickly for federal employees at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) when the Trump administration arrived last year. Amanda was on the management team of a $33 million dollar portion of the agency’s budget, overseeing three states, in charge of 13 facilities and a 120-vehicle fleet. She could have stayed silent and spent the next 12 years until retirement, but the DOGE cuts opened her eyes. To fire everyone hired in the last year, no matter how talented and committed, as the only criteria for trimming expenses made no sense. Her Representative in Congress seemed ineffectual in response. So, Amanda arranged to retire early, left the federal government, and launched her candidacy for the House in October 2025 “because I want to make sure the people are represented.” Again, her website is www.AmandaBellForCongress.org.

    54 min
  3. ASBL 57 Sanjyot Dunung, House Candidate, Illinois District 8

    JAN 30

    ASBL 57 Sanjyot Dunung, House Candidate, Illinois District 8

    ASBL 57 Sanjyot Dunung, House Candidate, Illinois District 8 Sanjyot Dunung is running as a Democrat for Congress in Illinois’s District 8. She is a “Small Business Founder, Social Scientist, Policy Expert, Educator, Military Mom and Caregiver.” She’s running “because families in our district deserve experienced, solutions-driven leadership grounded in facts, evidence, and real-world experience, not slogans or political theater.” A large part of why Sanjyot is running is the lack of common-sense solutions to help our small businesses. “Small businesses are the backbone of our community. More than 90% of the jobs come from small businesses.” Sanjyot has written textbooks on international business and global management. This is a big conversation about what Sanjyot wants to do for her District and for America’s small businesses. Her website is www.SanjyotForCongress.com, which says: “As your representative in Congress, I will:” Lower everyday costs for working families.Protect Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and Veterans’ programs.Make childcare, elder care, and disability care affordable.Strengthen education and skills training so people can thrive in tomorrow’s economy.Defend reproductive freedom and our fundamental rights.Keep our communities safe from gun violence.Protect our democracy and America’s principled global leadership.Deliver practical, innovative policies that reflect how the world — and economy — really works.We also discussed the American Small Business League (www.asbl.com), which wants Congress to stop big businesses from getting small business contracts (small businesses would create millions of jobs with those contracts and the economy would boom), and our Don’t Cheat Women project: ·        Raise from 5% to 15% the federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses. It’s not DEI or affirmative action. They sell what the government buys. ·        Define a small business as 100 or less employees. ·        Make the Small Business Administration prove that small business contracts go to small businesses (and give the SBA a budget and staff as big as its mission, which is to help the 99.9% of all firms in America which are small businesses). See why at www.DontCheatWomen.com. #sanjyotdunung #sanjyotforcongress #americansmallbusinessleague #dontcheatwomen

    41 min
  4. ASBL 56 Joshua McKee, House Candidate, Alabama District 1

    JAN 26

    ASBL 56 Joshua McKee, House Candidate, Alabama District 1

    Joshua McKee is running for Congress as a Republican in Alabama’s 1st District. A decorated U.S. Army Green Beret, Joshua spent 25 years serving our nation around the world and led Special Forces teams through combat and crisis. His website, www.McKeeForCongress.com, says, “In civilian life, Joshua served as a Global Strategist for General Motors, a solutions architect for Hewlett-Packard, and an entrepreneur who built businesses and signed both sides of a paycheck. He’s running to reform broken systems like the VA and restore the American Dream for Alabama families.” Highlights of our conversation: Joshus decided to run after seeing the amount of taxpayer dollars lost to fraud and the lack of accountability exposed by the DOGE investigations. A small business owner, he knows that “Regulations are really built for large corporations that have teams of lawyers and lobbyists, not for the family business, the small businesses that have less than 100 employees.” “In my normal messaging, there are two things that are important: the Veterans Administration and small businesses. Then [third], the education of our American youth. Those are the top three that I talk about in my [campaign] messaging.” Josh took a medical retirement from the military after a brain tumor was discovered, believed to be caused by a traumatic brain injury. After surgery, the VA had no doctor for him. “I ended up having 8 strokes in 9 months and lost my ability to speak and I was walking with a cane. It was January a year ago when I got my speech back. It was a struggle, to see how the VA had forgotten about me. They didn’t have the resources to treat every vet that comes through those doors.” “My voice came back, and an MRI came back clean. There was medical explanation of how there was nothing there or what happened or how I healed.” “I know by the grace of God is how I healed. So, the VA for me is at the top of the list, so our veterans, our heroes, get access to the care they need. Alabama is ranked 49th for mental healthcare access. So, unfortunately, when you hear of a veteran committing suicide, look at Alabama because it’s probably where it happened. We just had one happen at the beginning of the New Year. We’ve got focus on what’s going on in the VA. Somewhere, there’s a problem. We’ve got to get that resolved.” We also discussed the goals of our www.DontCheatWomen.com project. We want Congress to: ·        Raise from 5% to 15% the federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses. ·        Define a small business as 100 or less employees. ·        Make the Small Business Administration prove that small business contracts go to small businesses (and give the SBA a budget and staff as big as its mission, which is to help the 99.9% of all firms in America which are small businesses). Because: ·        Women are half the population. They own 40% of all businesses. They sell what the government buys. (It’s not charily or DEI or affirmative action.) ·        But they get less than 5% of federal contract dollars. Companies owned by men get at least 95%. Because they earn and save more than women, men dominate in politics. They donate more to campaigns and have more influence with the winners. It’s easier for men to run for office. The American Small Business League (www.asbl.com) wants to stop big businesses from getting small business contracts. (Small businesses would create millions of jobs with those contracts and the economy would boom.) #joshuamckee #mckeeforcongress #lloydchapman #americansmallbusinessleague #dontcheatwomen

    35 min
  5. ASBL 55 Bushra Amiwala, House Candidate, Illinois District 9

    JAN 16

    ASBL 55 Bushra Amiwala, House Candidate, Illinois District 9

    ASBL 55 Bushra Amiwala, House Candidate, Illinois District 9 Bushra Amiwala is running for Congress as a Democrat in Illinois’ 9th District, which includes part of Chicago. Her priorities include Education, Economic Justice, Immigration, and Healthcare. She’s running because “the rich are getting richer, the middle class is shrinking, special interest groups are plaguing our elections, there are humanitarian crises worldwide: and our taxpayer dollars are paying for it.” Bushra has an MBA, a B.S. in Information Systems, and a double minor in Community Service Studies and Public Policy Studies. In 2019, Bushra was elected to the Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education, and re-elected in 2023, running unopposed. From her website, www.bushraforcongress.com: “Born in Chicago to Pakistani immigrant parents and raised in Skokie, Bushra has lived in IL-09 her entire life. As an innovative problem solver Bushra made history as the first Gen Z elected official in the United States.” “Bushra has put herself through college (twice) with an MBA from Kellogg Northwestern’s School of Management (in District, too!), a B.S in Information Systems and a double minor in Community Service Studies and Public Policy Studies from DePaul University, Bushra serves as a shining example of what is possible with hard work, determination, and a little bit of hope.” “In 2019, Bushra was elected to the Skokie School District 73.5 Board of Education, advancing transparency by livestreaming all public board meetings, accessibility, by offering Halal, Kosher and Vegetarian food options for all students, inclusion by offering access to after school programming and curriculum to students free of charge - so cost is never a barrier. She was re-elected in 2023, running unopposed, and continues to serve her community with dedication.” The American Small Business League, www.asbl.com, wants Congress to stop the diversion of federal small business contracts to large corporations, make federal agencies reveal the companies that get small business contracts, and raise from 5% to 15% the federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses. That requires an overhaul of the Small Business Administration (SBA). It should expose, not cover up, the billions of dollars in small business contracts that go to large corporations every year. The goals of the ASBL’s www.DontCheatWomen.com project are: ·         Raise from 5% to 15% the amount of federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses (which would raise from 23% to 33% the amount that must go to small businesses in general). ·         Define a small business as 100 or less employees – because 98% of all businesses in America have less than 100 employees. Small business contracts should not go to firms with 500, 1,000, or 2,000 employees, as they do now. ·         Make the Small Business Administration prove that small business contracts go to small businesses. ·         Give the SBA a budget and staff as big as its mission (to help small businesses). The Trump administration is cutting the SBA budget and staff and plans to burden it with the $1.7 trillion dollar student loan portfolio, perhaps setting it up to fail. Women are half the population. They own 40% of all businesses. They sell what the government buys. But companies owned by men get over 95% of federal contracts, which helps men dominate in politics (because they earn and save more than women). Men donate more to campaigns and so have more influence with the winners. And it’s easier for men to run for office.

    27 min
  6. ASBL 54 William Marks, House Candidate, Texas District 25

    12/22/2025

    ASBL 54 William Marks, House Candidate, Texas District 25

    ASBL 54 William Marks, House Candidate, Texas District 25 William Marks is running for Congress as a Democrat in Texas, District 25. He is a decorated combat veteran and award-winning navy communicator with 22 years in the military, then he worked for at Meta, Facebook’s parent company, for six years. His website is www.WilliamMarks.com. With the ASBL’s Lloyd Chapman (founder and president) and Bruce de Torres (director of communications) William discussed his campaign, his opponent (Roger Williams, Chairman of the House Small Business Committee), and Lloyd’s accusation that Republicans are anti-small business. “Based on the research I’ve done,” William said, “I concur with you. In Texas, I see Republicans pulling the wool over [the eyes of small business] with the rhetoric of support, but they really support billion-dollar big businesses.” “When [federal agencies] classify large businesses as small businesses [for the purpose of awarding small business contracts], they’re just giving corporate welfare to these large businesses, taking away from those true, local community small businesses.” “Roger Williams strolls into chambers of commerce and pretends he’s a champion for small business when you and I know [he’s] really protecting big businesses.” Lloyd said, “It’s worse than that. Not only are they protecting big business. They’re anti-small business. The current budget under the Republican Congress and Trump cuts the SBA budget to its lowest in history, lower than the budget it had 50 years ago.” “And Trump’s trying to close offices around the country that help women-owned businesses and veteran-owned businesses.” After the military, William listened to the needs of thousands of small businesses around the country and supported them with hundreds of thousands of dollars of grants through Meta, his employer. William endorses the goals of our www.DontCheatWomen.com project: We want Congress to: ·        Raise from 5% to 15% the federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses. ·        Define a small business as 100 or less employees. ·        Make the Small Business Administration prove that small business contracts go to small businesses (and give the SBA a budget and staff as big as its mission, which is to help the 99.9% of all firms in America which are small businesses). Because: ·        Women are half the population. They own 40% of all businesses. They sell what the government buys. ·        But they get less than 5% of federal contract dollars. Companies owned by men get at least 95%. ·        Without economic fairness, women are not political equals. Because they earn and save more than women, men dominate in politics. Men donate more to politicians and therefore have more influence. It’s easier for men to run for office. Men hold roughly 75% of seats in the House, the Senate, State legislatures, and cabinet positions. They hold almost that many governorships and 90% of committee chair and party leadership positions. That must change. Women have different political values and priorities. The American Small Business League (www.asbl.com) wants to stop big businesses from getting small business contracts. (Small businesses would create millions of jobs with those contracts and the economy would boom.) #williammarksforcongress #williammarkstexasdistricttwentyfive #lloydchapman #americansmallbusinessleague #dontcheatwomen

    48 min
  7. ASBL 53 Xavier Carrigan, House Candidate, Iowa District 3

    12/16/2025

    ASBL 53 Xavier Carrigan, House Candidate, Iowa District 3

    ASBL 53 Xavier Carrigan, House Candidate, Iowa District 3 Xavier Carrigan is a Democrat running for the House in Iowa’s 3rd District to bring a working-class perspective, educational insight, and creative problem-solving to Washington. His website is www.XCarrigan.com. Xavier is a teacher, communicator, and advocate who wants our government to work for the people who make this country run. He knows what it means to hustle and fight for a better future. He has his Master's in Linguistics and Bilingual Education and has taught English as a Second Language at institutions such as Ohio State, Arizona State, Ohio Northern, Owens, and Findlay, as well as internationally in Japan, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia. Some highlights of our conversation: In early 2025 Xavier thought that two declared candidates in Iowa would be business-as-usual. Then he decided to run for Congress “when Trump unilaterally struck Iran [in June] because I have family there. I’m half Persian. My family got out of Tehran when that happened, but they did lose some friends and that was motivation enough [and] I feel we need somebody who’s more connected with the working class than politics-as-usual in this moment.” “I feel I have that direct connection with the working class, even the unemployed. I can understand where you’re at because I’ve been in your shoes.” What do you want to do? “Medicare for all is probably at the top of the list, followed by climate change and women’s rights and ending the student loan debt. It’s a burden that other countries around the world have managed to figure out and there are very easy solutions. [The resistance comes from] inconveniencing the billionaire class.” Regarding Medicare and healthcare in America, “We all know the truth. We’re being price-gouged, the worst in the world, especially when it comes to prescription medication.” He described a two-and-a-half-day hospital stay that ended up with a $37,000 bill which got dropped to around $3,700, “which kind of proves what the real bill should be.” And we discussed our small business issues: The American Small Business League (www.asbl.com) wants to stop big businesses from getting small business contracts. (Small businesses would create millions of jobs with those contracts and the economy would boom.) Our www.DontCheatWomen.com project wants to end discrimination against women in federal contracting. We want Congress to: •        Raise from 5% to 15% the amount of federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses. Women are half the population. They own 40% of all businesses. They sell what the government buys. But companies owned by men get over 95% of federal contracts. Men dominate in politics because they earn and save more than women. Men give more to politicians and have more influence with them. And it’s easier for men to run for and win office. Men hold roughly 75% of seats in the House, the Senate, all State Legislatures, and every president’s cabinet. They hold almost that many governorships and 90% of committee chair and party leadership positions Women need to participate in politics as equals. They have different wisdom, values and priorities and deserve equal representation. Raising the number of federal contracts that must go to women-owned small businesses is a great first step. #xaviercarrigan #xcarrigandotcom #xcarriganforcongress #americansmallbusinessleague #dontcheatwomendotcom

    28 min
  8. ASBL 52 Vance Bostic, House Candidate, NY District 8

    12/15/2025

    ASBL 52 Vance Bostic, House Candidate, NY District 8

    ASBL 52 Vance Bostic, House Candidate, NY District 8 Vance Bostic is running as a Democrat for Congress in NY’s 8th District (mostly in Brooklyn), the seat currently held by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (“a failure in the district”). From www.VanceBforNY8.com: Born and raised in the projects of Coney Island, Vance has worked in every corner of the service industry. Along the way, he got his MBA. He sees our “elected officials” as weak-willed and corporate-backed, standing by while democracy crumbles and the rich get richer. Highlights from our conversation: Congress has lost its humanity. We need real public servants, not career politicians; representatives who care about the people and will put humanity first. Vance wants great communication with the district (polls, etc.) so he can write bills for their wants and needs, so they can tell him what to do as their representative. PLATFORM Housing Is a Human Right Artists & Gig Workers Bill of Rights (for such jobs as Uber, Door Dash, etc.) Medicare For All Ending Citizens United Single-Subject Bills Justice & Safety How has Jeffries failed the district? “I’ve seen him at union rallies. Then he votes for things like Amazon’s union busting. He smiles to our face but votes against us behind our backs. He voted against capping credit card interest. He gets a lot of money from Wall Street and Big Pharma and votes against Medicare for all. The things we keep asking for, he’s not in favor of.” And we discussed our small business issues: The American Small Business League (www.asbl.com) wants to stop big businesses from getting small business contracts. (Small businesses would create millions of jobs with those contracts and the economy would boom.) Our www.DontCheatWomen.com project wants to end discrimination against women in federal contracting. We want Congress to: •        Raise from 5% to 15% the amount of federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses. Women are half the population. They own 40% of all businesses. They sell what the government buys. But companies owned by men get over 95% of federal contracts. Men dominate in politics because they earn and save more than women. Men give more to politicians and have more influence with them. And it’s easier for men to run for and win office. Men hold roughly 75% of seats in the House, the Senate, all State Legislatures, and every president’s cabinet. They hold almost that many governorships and 90% of committee chair and party leadership positions Women need to participate in politics as equals. They have different wisdom, values and priorities and deserve equal representation. Raising the number of federal contracts that must go to women-owned small businesses is a great first step. #vancebostic #vancebforny #vancebforcongress #americansmallbusinessleague #dontcheatwomendotcom

    42 min
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About

Lloyd Chapman is Founder and President of the American Small Business League (ASBL.com), working to stop the diversion of small business contracts to big businesses. Our DontCheatWomen.com project seeks to raise from 5% to 15% the federal contract dollars that must go to women-owned small businesses.   Bruce de Torres is Director of Communications for the American Small Business League and author of GOD, SCHOOL, 9/11 AND JFK: The Lies That Are Killing Us and The Truth That Sets Us Free. (Read the amazing reviews at brucedetorres.com.)

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