Obama Transition Official Urges Boost for SBA A leader of the Obama transition team for SBA says the new administration must revitalize an agency “decimated by budget cuts during the Bush administration.” Fred Hochberg analyzed SBA in a transition white paper, “Change for America,” published by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a Washington think tank headed by John Podesta, co-chairman of the Obama transition effort. He urged the new president to restore SBA to cabinet-level status, as it was during the Clinton administration. “SBA participation in cabinet proceed­ings allows for input on a broad range of economic policy and budget decisions,” he said. Hochberg’s article could be a blueprint for the agency’s future, as his name is among those mentioned as a possible head of SBA in the Obama administration. He served as SBA deputy administrator and acting administrator under President Clinton. He is a former chief operating officer of catalog retailer Lillian Vernon Corp. He said the Bush administration’s cuts of up to 40% in the SBA budget has left the agency unable to effectively manage its programs, from loans and disaster assistance to federal contracting. To restore the agency’s vitality, Hochberg proposed a “listening tour” early in the new administration, for agency officials to re-connect with small business owners across the nation. He urged an overhaul of size standards, something the agency has already begun. And he called for a “postgraduate” 8(a) program that would set aside some contracts for recent 8(a) graduates, “to allow them to bridge the gap from 8(a) to a competitive size.” This program would essentially provide a transition period, allowing for continued access to services and to compete for contracts with other companies within the postgraduate program. SBA issued a detailed rebuttal to Hochberg’s critique, concluding, “Mr. Hochberg’s analysis is largely inaccurate, outdated, and misleading and does not advance the cause of informed debate on the future of the Agency.”