Obama asks for $206M for SBA small biz development programs
Includes increases for Women’s Biz Centers, veterans outreach
SBA consolidation & reorganization on table again; details scarce
Most of the president’s budget proposal for the Small Business Administration in fiscal 2016 was straightforward, with a flat budget overall and small increases planned for many of its entrepreneurial and small business development programs.
What was surprising was that Obama apparently has opened the door once again to reorganizing parts of, or possibly all of, the SBA, even though he previously floated a similar idea in 2012 that proved to be unpopular. At this time, the details of the current consolidation plan are vague and it’s unclear if the president intends to go as far as he suggested in 2012.
In a budget section called “A Government of the Future,” the president outlines efficiency goals, including consolidating and reorganizing government agencies. “The Budget continues prior proposals to consolidate a number of agencies and programs into a new Department with a focused mission to foster economic growth and spur job creation,” the document states.
Several news outlets have reported that the “prior proposals” so referenced include Obama’s 2012 plan to consolidate the SBA with several trade agencies from the Commerce Department and other departments. The 2012 plan was not very popular at the time, but it appears to have been resurrected.
Details on the proposed consolidation were hard to come by.
For example, under Obama’s fiscal 2016 blueprint, entrepreneurial development programs at the SBA would receive $206 million, down from $220 million enacted in fiscal 2015. Most of the decrease is from the $17 million State Trade & Export Promotion (STEP) program and the $5 million PRIME Technical Assistance program, both of which would be funded at zero at the SBA in fiscal 2016.
It was not made clear in the documents if the STEP and PRIME programs would be closing down, or possibly would move to the new department as part of the proposed reorganization. SBA officials did not respond to Set-Aside Alert’s requests for further clarification.
Overall, the president asked for $701 million for the SBA in fiscal 2016, of which about $456 million is for its operating budget, up from $426 million enacted this year.
Several entrepreneurial development programs would see a funding hike, including Women’s Business Centers, $16 million, up from $15 million; Veterans Outreach, $11.4 million, up from $10.5 million; Entrepreneurship Education, $11 million, up from $7 million; and Growth Accelerators, $5 million, up from $4 million.
Others would remain flat, including Small Business Development Centers, at $115 million; SCORE, at $8 million; Regional Innovation Clusters, at $6 million; 7J Technical Assistance, at $2.8 million; and Native American Outreach, at $2 million.
In a separate table the SBA said its contracting programs would total $99 million in fiscal 2016, up from $95 million this year.
That would include $55 million for the 8(a) program (up from $53 million); $19 million for prime contracting assistance (up from $18 million); $10.5 million for the HUBZone program (up from $10.1 million) and $2.3 million for the Womens Business Program (up from $2.2 million).
The SBA budget request also funds an SBA Idea Lab, SBA Digital Services Team and SBA Center on Efficiency.
More information: SBA Budget Justification: http://goo.gl/pb5ItH
Government of the Future http://goo.gl/e4HxCC
