ye
e
on
Washington
Sequestration is adding to an already ambiguous small business climate.
By Cameron Asgarian
.
Uncer taint y is the
buzzword of the season
in Washington when it
comes to small business.
Although the economy
seems to have weathered
the worst of the recession,
the future is still unclear.
As Karen Mills, head of the Small Business Administration (SBA), who tendered her resignation earlier this
year, noted in a letter to her staff, “Together, we got capital
into the hands of small business owners and entrepreneurs
when they needed it most.” Confirmed in 2009, Mills will
continue to run the SBA until the President and Senate
can agree on a successor, but the White House has issued
no announcements on a nominee. A source close to the
process who wished to remain off the record said that
the administration was considering Regina Smith of the
Harlem Business Alliance, among others.
Likewise, the fate of the SBA as a whole is in flux. In
2012, President Obama suggested the possibility of con38
May/June 2013
MBE
solidating the SBA into a
broader agency focusing on
trade, and suggestions that
it would be folded into the
Department of Commerce
persisted earlier this year.
According to SBA spokeswoman Kathleen Sheehy,
the proposal would actually see six agencies, including the
Import-Export Bank and the Office of the U.S. Trade
Representative, amalgamated into a single entity to “reduce inefficiencies and better help American businesses
succeed.” So far, no steps toward a consolidation have
been taken. Meanwhile, other issues—mainly the ongoing
debate over the federal budget—have overshadowed talks
about the fate of the SBA.
A Slowdown in Payments
While many Americans may not yet see the effects of
sequestration, the automatic spending cuts that went into
effect March 1, small businesses have already begun to feel