Velazquez to Take Gavel, Pound Bush Administration The incoming Democratic chair of the House Small Business Committee, New York Rep. Nydia Velazquez, is pledging to restore the Small Business Administration after six years of Bush administration budget cuts. Velazquez has been a leading critic of the administration’s small business policies, and does not intend to let up. She will have an early chance to put her stamp on those policies. The committee will write legislation to reauthorize SBA programs after this year’s Congress failed to move the bill. She said she will work to restore subsidies for the agency’s flagship 7(a) loan program. The Bush administration put the program on a pay-as-you-go basis, increasing fees for borrowers and lenders. SBA figures show both the number and value of loans has risen in spite of the fee increases. Serving as the ranking Democrat on the committee since 1998, Velazquez has been a dedicated defender of the 8(a) program. She and other Democrats have proposed an overhaul of the program that would raise net-worth limits for 8(a) business owners and increase the ceiling on sole-source contracts to $10 million from the current $3 million ($5 million for manufacturing). She said other priorities include reducing regulatory and tax burdens and providing relief from the high cost of health care and energy. The committee’s Democratic staff produces an annual scorecard rating federal agencies’ performance on small business contracting. This year the staff analysis found $12 billion in contracts credited to small businesses actually went to large businesses or nonprofits. The Democrats calculated the small business share of the federal market was 21.57% in 2005, compared to 25.36% in the official SBA figures.