Karen Gordon Mills Unanimously Confirmed as SBA Administrator By U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed late last night President Barack Obama’s nomination of Karen Gordon Mills [pictured] as the 23rd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

“Small business is the backbone of the American economy,” Mills said upon her confirmation. “The SBA has a vital role to play in supporting our nation’s small businesses, so that they can be the key driver in getting our economy moving again. I look forward to leading this critical agency at this important time.

“I want to thank President Obama for this opportunity to serve as a voice for our nation’s small-business owners and entrepreneurs. I would also like to express my appreciation to Darryl Hairston for his leadership as Acting Administrator during this transition, along with everyone at the SBA, for the hard work they are doing to implement the important programs of the Recovery Act.”

In testimony on April 1 before the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, Mills discussed her hands-on experience managing and helping to grow small businesses.

“I was there on the factory floor in Arkansas and Ohio, working to weather the recession of the early ‘90s,” she said. “Those experiences give me a deep understanding of what our small businesses need today to survive this downturn and to prosper in the years ahead. Since then, I have helped grow companies in organic food and women’s media, and spent time in rural Maine working with our boat builders and composite technology to help them compete throughout the globe.

“The sum of my experience is this: I am a believer in American small business. I am a believer in America’s ability to manufacture goods and services that are world-class, and I am a believer in America’s spirit of entrepreneurship. This spirit is one of our country’s greatest assets, and we need to cultivate it today more than ever.”

“The unanimous confirmation of Karen Mills to serve as SBA Administrator further shows that she is the right person to lead the agency at this crucial time,” said Sen. Mary Landrieu [D-La.], chair of the Small Business Committee, which unanimously reported Mills' nomination to the full Senate. “Ms. Mills’ background as an entrepreneur and community leader, coupled with her vast experience and education, put her in the right position to assume the reigns of the SBA. I am confident that, under her leadership, the agency will be better equipped to assist small businesses throughout the country.”

“I am thrilled that the Senate has approved Karen Mills’ nomination unanimously,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe [R-Maine], ranking member of the Small Business Committee. “Karen is a talented and intelligent entrepreneur, and she will bring her vast experience, remarkable intellect, and exceptional creativity to the SBA as a strong and passionate advocate for America’s 27 million small businesses.

“I was so proud to have recommended to the President that Ms. Mills, a fellow Mainer, serve as our next administrator of the SBA, and I look forward to partnering with her on bold initiatives to tackle America’s economic problems.”

As Administrator of the SBA, Mills will direct a federal agency with more than 2,000 fulltime employees, with a leading role in helping small-business owners and entrepreneurs secure financing, technical assistance and training, and federal contracts. SBA also plays a leading role in disaster recovery by making low-interest loans.

Mills, of Brunswick, Maine, was president of MMP Group and has a 25-year career of investing in, and growing, small businesses. In 2007, she was appointed by Maine Gov. John Baldacci as chair of the state’s Council on Competitiveness and the Economy, where she focused on attracting investment in rural and regional development initiatives. She also co-authored a Brookings Institution paper on competitive clusters.

Mills is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served as vice chairman of the Harvard Overseers. She holds a degree in economics from Harvard University and an MBA from Harvard Business School, where she was a Baker Scholar. Mills and her husband, Barry Mills, president of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, have three sons.

More information from the confirmation hearing of Karen Gordon Mills as SBA Administrator is available online at: http://tinyurl.com/c6x5kj.

You can link to Mills’ written statement to the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship here: http://tinyurl.com/co3o99.

GoodBiz113's take: Indeed, having a Harvard Business School alum, venture capitalist, and thoughtful and compassionate visionary at SBA's helm is just what America -- and the world -- needs right now. We wish SBA Administrator Mills the very best.

SOURCES: Harvard Business School [photo], SBA Press Office, U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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Senate Passes First Funding Increase for Small-Business Programs in Seven Years

Today, Sen. John Kerry [D-Mass.] applauded the Senate’s passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2008, which provides more than $40 million in additional funding for key Small Business Administration [SBA] programs over last year’s funding. Each of the SBA’s core programs -- including Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and the Microloan program -- will receive an increase.

"For the first time since President Bush took office, small business programs will receive a real funding increase thanks to the Democratic leadership of this Congress," said Kerry, chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

"Small businesses are the economic engine of America and create two thirds of all jobs, but the Bush administration has merely used them as photo ops and backdrops to promote big-business policies," Kerry noted. "Democrats have made clear our commitment to fostering innovation and entrepreneurship, and to solidifying America’s future competitive edge by investing in small-business programs."

The 2008 Consolidated Appropriations Act provides almost $569 million in funding for SBA programs. When funding for the disaster loan program and non-agency spending is excluded because it fluctuates each year, the SBA’s funding is increased by more than $40 million over the 2007 funding levels.

Specifically, the SBA’s core programs will receive:

* Small Business Development Centers: Up 9 percent [from $89 million to $97.1 million]
* Women’s Business Centers: Up 4 percent [from $12.5 million to $13 million]
* Microloan Technical Assistance Grants: Up 15 percent [from $13 million to $15 million]
* Microloans: Up 53 percent [from $1.3 million to $2 million in funds to leverage almost $20 million in loans -- up from $12.7 million last year]
* Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs: Up 50 percent [from $2 million to $3 million]
* 7[j] Management and Technical Assistance Program: Up 53 percent [from $1.5 million to $2.3 million]
* HUBZone Program: Up 5 percent [from $2 million to $2.1 million]
* Surety Bond Guarantee Program: Up 6 percent [from $2.8 million to $3 million]
* Loans and Venture Capital: The SBA will be able to leverage up to $28 billion in loans and venture capital deals through the 7[a], 504, and Small Business Investment Company [SBIC] programs.

SOURCE: U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
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SBA Releases First-Ever Procurement Scorecard; Seven of 24 Federal Agencies Met 2006 Contracting Goals

In an effort to increase the transparency and accountability in small-business contracting, the U.S. Small Business Administration [SBA] today released its first-ever Small Business Procurement Scorecard. The Scorecard will help agencies measure their achievements and progress in making contracting opportunities available to small businesses, improve the accuracy of contracting data regarding small businesses, and provide the public the opportunity to assess agencies’ performance in meeting these goals.

Seven federal agencies -- the Departments of Agriculture, Energy, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Veterans Affairs, and SBA itself -- met their small-business contracting goals.

“SBA’s and the agencies’ commitment to small-business contracting results is unprecedented,” said Clay Johnson, Deputy Director for Management at the Office of Management and Budget. “With clear, outcome-oriented goals, clear, realistically aggressive plans to achieve them, clearly defined accountability, and frequent tracking of performance, SBA and the agencies are saying they want to be held most publicly accountable for contracting with small business at desired levels.”

SBA’s Scorecard builds on a series of administration initiatives to improve small-business access to federal contracts. At the request of the White House’s Office of Federal Procurement Policy and SBA, federal agencies spent months reviewing 11 million contract actions from the last two years to cleanse the database of miscoded contracts.

On June 30, federal regulations were changed. Contracts awarded to small companies acquired by large corporations will no longer count towards federal agency small-business goals – even if the acquisition took place before the rule change.

“These changes – increased accuracy, transparency and accountability – provide a real window of opportunity for America’s small businesses,” said SBA Administrator Steven Preston [pictured]. “Almost $5 billion in misreported contracts have been cleaned out of the small-business database.

"To meet their goals in 2007 and beyond, federal agencies know they will have to place more new contracts with small businesses. SBA is also increasing its staff and technical assistance to help our federal partners meet their contracting needs.”

Small Business Goaling Report
After working with federal agencies to identify miscoding and anomalies in the contracting database, SBA released the annual Small Business Goaling Report for FY 2006, and revised the FY 2005 report.

The Goaling Report shows that $77.7 billion in federal contracts were awarded to small businesses in FY 2006 -- up $2.7 billion from the previous year. The revisions reduce the share of contracts awarded to small businesses in 2005; $4.6 billion from the previously reported 25.4 percent, to 23.4 percent. For 2006, the figure is 22.8 percent, just short of the small-business procurement goal established by law at 23 percent.

Administrator Preston cited the progress federal agencies have made towards meeting the five targeted sub-categories for small businesses procurement as an example of what can be accomplished when agencies track progress towards small-business goals. “While only the target for small disadvantaged business has been met so far,” he said, “SBA is encouraged by the real gains made in every category in 2006.”

In other categories, contracts to companies owned by service-disabled veterans increased by 50 percent, from $2 billion to $3 billion; contracts to women-owned businesses increased by a billion dollars; contracts to 8(a) enterprises rose by $700 million; and contracts to HUBZone firms were up $1 billion.

“We still have more to do to reach our targets,” Preston said, “but these are accomplishments that our federal partners can be proud of.”

View From the Senate
In light of SBA's new report, Sen. John Kerry [D-Mass.], chairman of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, expressed reserved praise.

“I’m glad to see Administrator Preston has taken some steps to fix the faulty and misleading small-business contracting numbers and hold agencies accountable, but these numbers should still be viewed with caution," Kerry declared in a formal statement. "Despite the federal contracting budget increasing by at least $20 billion last year, the percentage going to small businesses decreased, and the government still isn’t counting the whole pie because of special exemptions and exclusions.

“It’s critical that we continue to improve the reporting system and count all contracts in calculations, so we know the reality on the ground. It’s not about meeting the goals for the sake of meeting a number. Doing more business with small firms is good for our economic and national security, because it diversifies our supply base. I will continue to review and analyze these numbers, and will work with Administrator Preston to ensure that the entire government is truly meeting the small business goals.”

About the Scorecard
SBA rates 24 agencies green, yellow or red -- both on whether they reached their annual small-business contracting goals, and on their progress on efforts to make contracting opportunities available to small businesses. To achieve a green rating, a federal agency has to meet its overall small-business contracting goal, as well as the goals for at least three of four subcategories. For their current status, seven agencies were rated green, five yellow, and 12 were red. In the second category, under “progress,” 12 agencies were rated green, eight were yellow, and four were red.

Each federal agency has a different small-business contracting goal, determined annually in consultation with SBA. SBA ensures that the sum total of all of the goals exceeds the 23 percent target established by law. The Scorecard will be updated every six months and is publicly available on the SBA Web site.

Sources: U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, U.S. Small Business Administration
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Senators Kerry and Snowe Press SBA for Action on Energy Program

Three weeks after pressing Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Stephen Johnson re EPA's inadequate allocation of resources for its ENERGY STAR for Small Business program [see GoodBiz113's "Kerry, Snowe Seek Energy Star Details from EPA" post on April 9], Senators John Kerry [D-Mass.] and Olympia Snowe [R-Maine] are now looking to the U.S. Small Business Administration for answers regarding SBA’s implementation of a federally mandated energy efficiency program.

At a hearing last month, the assistant administrator for SBA's Office of Policy testified that, although the program was created as part of the Energy Policy Act in August 2005, the program has not been implemented by the Administration.

Following, is the text of Kerry-Snowe letter to SBA Administrator Steven Preston:


April 24, 2007

The Honorable Steven Preston
Administrator
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 Third Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20416

Dear Administrator Preston,

As Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, we recently held a hearing to explore the ways in which small businesses can help to address the global warming crisis. We thank you for the testimony of Dan Horowitz, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Policy, on behalf of the Small Business Administration [SBA]. The purpose of this letter is to follow up on Mr. Horowitz’s testimony -- specifically, as it addressed the SBA’s responsibilities that were mandated by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 [EPAct].

The EPAct, which President George W. Bush signed into law on August 8, 2005, requires, inter alia, that the SBA, working with several other agencies, “shall develop a governmentwide program, building on the ENERGY STAR for Small Business program,” to assist small business with:
[A] Becoming more energy-efficient;
[B] Understanding the cost savings from improved energy efficiency;
[C] Understanding and accessing Federal procurement opportunities with regard to ENERGY STAR technologies and products; and
[D] Identifying financing options for energy-efficiency upgrades.

In addition, the SBA, as part of the outreach to small businesses under the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR for Small Business program, may enter into cooperative agreements with qualified partners to establish, maintain, and promote a “Small Business Energy Clearinghouse.” This Clearinghouse would provide a centralized resource where small businesses may access, telephonically and electronically, technical information and advice to help increase energy efficiency and reduce energy costs.

We are, frankly, concerned by the lack of progress SBA has made in implementing these requirements. Twenty months have passed since the EPAct was signed into law, and SBA appears to be nowhere close to satisfying these requirements.

Mr. Horowitz addressed the Administration’s efforts to implement this program, testifying that, although this program was not yet operational, “there are several people working on it,” and that the hearing “provided a catalyst for making [the program] a priority.” Mr. Horowitz also testified that the SBA would provide to the Committee a progress report on the four mandated requirements under the Energy Policy Act.

Small business is the engine that drives the American economy, employing half of all private-sector employees, producing half of the nation’s non-farm private gross domestic product, and creating nearly three-quarters of all net new jobs each year. Some estimates project that small businesses also use approximately half of all commercial and industrial energy in this country.

Despite these statistics, and despite Mr. Horowitz’s testimony to the contrary, there is little evidence that promoting energy efficiency for small businesses is a priority within the Administration. More than a month has passed since the date of the hearing, and the Committee has received none of the information that SBA promised to supply.

We request that you provide, within 30 days of receipt of this letter, an update on all of SBA’s small business requirements under the EPAct, including:
[1] Any and all resources required to implement the program, as well as whether additional appropriations are needed for SBA to effectively implement the EPAct requirements;

[2] Any and all staff that are dedicated to implementing and administering the Small Business Energy Clearinghouse; and

[3] A timeframe that details a schedule for completion of all SBA requirements under the EPAct.

We believe that the SBA can and must play a significant role in assisting small businesses to become more energy-efficient.

Thank you for your attention to our request. Should you have any questions about the substance of the hearing, please do not hesitate to contact us directly, or to contact Brian Rice [with Senator Kerry] at [202] 224-5175 or Alex Hecht [with Senator Snowe] at [202] 224-7884.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry
Chairman

Olympia J. Snowe
Ranking Member

GoodBiz113's take: As champions of small business and the environment, we again commend Sen. Kerry and Sen. Snowe on their collaborative and persistent efforts to promote entrepreneurship and energy efficiency. Keep fighting the good, bipartisan fight!

For grass-roots information about how we can all help halt global warming, go to StopGlobalWarming.org.
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