President Bush has nominated SBA administrator Steven Preston to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development. If confirmed by the Senate, Preston would succeed Alphonso Jackson, who resigned while under investigation for alleged favoritism in contract awards.

With the Bush administration in its final year in office, the president will likely name a caretaker to head SBA. Deputy Administrator Jovita Carranza, who has already been confirmed by the Senate for her present job, is one leading candidate.

The Defense Department says it will cost $17 billion over five years to comply with a law requiring withholding of taxes from payments to contractors. In a report to Congress, DOD also cautioned that the withholding requirement could discourage some businesses from competing for federal contracts.

In 2005 Congress enacted the provision requiring federal, state and local governments to withhold 3% of payments to contractors for federal income taxes, beginning in 2011. Business groups and state and local governments have been campaigning for repeal of the law.

The report said, “Companies that properly pay their tax obligations will experience cash shortages equal to the amounts withheld until the amounts are recovered through the normal federal income tax process.”

DOD said it would have to modify accounting systems to capture the withholding and hire additional staff to keep the records and transfer the money to the IRS.

The House has approved legislation reauthorizing the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Research programs. H.R. 5819 passed April 23 on a vote of 368-43.

The two programs are the largest source of federal funding for private-sector technological innovation. They provided more than $2.3 billion annually.

SBA’s Business.gov website has gotten a facelift. Billed as the “Official Business Link to the U.S. Government,” it’s designed to be a one-stop-shop for information on federal regulations.

The site has added more than 75 pages of content on state and local regulations. A “smart” Google search capability enables users to locate relevant business information where they are doing business. A newly updated “Permit Me” tool provides a complete list of permits necessary for a particular business types in particular locations.

SBA manages Business.gov in a partnership with 21 other agencies.