A Peek at SBA's Future?

Fred Hochberg, a Clinton-era agency administrator, is drafting recommendations for the Obama transition team on what to do with the Small Business Administration.He may not be able to talk right now about what he will propose. But what's the secret? He has written on the subject before.

Hochberg's top priority is to unfreeze the credit market for small businesses. But he also writes that the SBA should "rebuild its downsized and demoralized staff; rethink eligibility requirements for what constitutes a 'small' business; and re-establish federal guidelines for small business contracting terms with federal agencies. Additionally, restoring the agency to cabinet status by executive order will make the agency a central component of economic policy and planning."

The most important part of that plan is elevating the SBA administrator to a cabinet-level position, says Susan Eckerly, vice president for federal public policy at the National Federation of Independent Business. "The SBA is now viewed as a loan agency," Eckerly says. "Too many people in the federal government have never run a small business, have never met a payroll. Taxes, health care reform, regulatory policy are all relevant to small business. The SBA needs a seat at the table. — The SBA quagmire, CNNMoney

Robert Coleman, SBA expert and publisher to the lending industry, provides an excellent recap on the latest news on the free fall of SBA 7(a) loans and the freeze of the secondary market.

Related reading:

• Entrepreneur experts weigh in on what to do with the SBA, 12 Different Views. CNNMoney
• SBA Loans Free Falling