Obama: SBA to merge into new agency

President Obama has revived his 2012 plans to consolidate six agencies--including the Small Business Administration--into a single new department focused on economic growth, an SBA executive confirmed to Set-Aside Alert.

“As the President first indicated in 2012, if he is given Presidential reorganization authority, he would propose to consolidate a number of agencies and programs into a new department focused on fostering economic growth and driving job creation. This year's proposal is right in line with proposals in previous budgets,” Miguel Ayala, SBA press secretary, told Set-Aside Alert in an emailed statement.

“This proposal would consolidate six primary business and trade agencies, as well as other related programs, integrating the Government's core trade and competitiveness functions into one new department,” Ayala wrote.

“Specifically, the department would include the Department of Commerce's core business and trade functions, the Small Business Administration, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency,” Ayala added.

“This Department would be responsible for expanding trade and investment, growing small businesses, and supporting innovation, and would be more effectively aligned to strengthen trade enforcement and implement a strong, pro-growth trade policy,” Ayala wrote.

The president alluded to the reorganization plans in the fiscal 2016 federal budget request from the administration.

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