SBA To Raise 8(a) Net Worth Limit SBA intends to increase the $250,000 net-worth limit for owners of new 8(a) companies. Deputy Administrator Jovita Carranza said the agency is preparing legislation to raise the limit, which has not been changed since 1988. She gave no specifics in testimony before the House Small Business Committee on Sept. 19. She did not specifically mention the $750,000 limit for business owners already in the 8(a) program. While many members of Congress have called for a substantial increase in the net-worth ceiling, SBA had previously said no change was needed. An SBA official told Congress in May that the average net worth of an owner entering the 8(a) program is $60,000 to $70,000. A business owner’s net worth is calculated without counting the value of his or her equity in the business or residence. Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velazquez, D-NY, said SBA can change the limit by regulation without an act of Congress. Harry Alford, president of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, said applicants to the 8(a) program are waiting six months or more for SBA approval. “Everyone has given up out there on the SBA for developing small and minority business,” he declared. Carranza testified, “the backlog of 8(a) applications is gone.” She said the agency has asked for $500,000 in its 2008 budget “to examine how best to serve” all designated socioeconomic groups “while not restricting the success of any one program.”