Will SBA abandon its $27M Certify.sba.gov site? Possibly.

In House hearing, lawmakers air concerns about SBA management; IG notes progress in HR, disaster loans

     The problems with the Small Business Administration’s certify.sba.gov online system are so serious that the SBA is considering terminating it, despite having just spent $27 million developing it, according to the agency’s inspector general.

      “SBA has basically notified us that they are indeed looking to abandon the platform,” Hannibal “Mike” Ware, SBA IG, testified at a House Small Business Committee hearing on Oct. 16. “It has not been able to deliver like they thought it would.”

      The ineffective website was just one of the SBA management issues highlighted in the hearing, following a recent IG report on the subject. Lawmakers also raised concerns about gaps in leadership and a high level of vacancies at the SBA and about SBA’s lack of responsiveness to committee ...more....