If you are a small business owner, you may be pleased to learn that the Small Business Administration (SBA) dodged the budget-bullet last week. Despite bantering about a number of potential cuts, in the end, House and Senate negotiators agreed to restore the SBA appropriation to $433 million. The compromise spending bill includes a cut of 7 to 8 percent on total non-military discretionary spending. The SBA emerged, however, largely intact. Also, the business loan guarantee programs, which are financed through a separate account, also retained its 2010 funding of $236 million. Short-term, it looks like the SBA is still in business (in pun intended). But budget cuts and debt-reduction remain hot political topics. The Republican House already has made its intents known, suggesting cuts of $100 million from the SBA. President Obama also proposes to strip $28 million from the agency for 2012. If you were thinking of turning to the SBA for assistance in expanding your small business, you may be well-advised to move sooner rather than later.
Link: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/s-b-a-spared-in-2011-spending-deal/?ref=smallbusiness
From The New York Times Online (April 12, 2011) “SBA Spared in 2011 Spending Deal”
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