March 29, 2024

You’re the Boss: S.B.A. Spared in 2011 Spending Deal

The Agenda

While many federal agencies will take a haircut in the spending bill negotiated last weekend between Senate Democrats and House Republicans — total nonmilitary discretionary spending will be cut by 7 to 8 percent from 2010 levels — the Small Business Administration has emerged from the negotiations largely intact.

The bill trims 0.2 percent from every nonmilitary discretionary account, including those that finance the S.B.A. But it also aims at specific programs with deeper cuts, and here the S.B.A. was effectively spared. In February, the House voted to cut $25 million, or about 6 percent, from the agency’s 2011 salaries and expenses budget, which pays for much of its small-business mission, including the counseling grants that the agency passes on to other organizations (such as Score and the small business development centers). In the end, however, House and Senate negotiators restored the appropriation to $433 million. The business loan guarantee programs are financed through a separate account, which also retained its 2010 funding of $236 million.

Perhaps House Republicans are saving their fire for the battle over the 2012 budget. Last week, Paul Ryan, chairman of the Budget Committee, proposed a budget outline with steep cuts in domestic spending over the next 10 years, and in March, the House Small Business Committee suggested cutting $100 million from what the S.B.A. will receive this year. The Obama administration, by contrast, proposes to strip $28 million from the agency in 2012.

Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=e2198f7e574d7a5af8189b0099bf5317