Contents

• Introduction
• SBA Funding Trends: FY2000-FY2020
• SBA Funding Within the Other Programs Category
• Salaries and Expenses
• Business Loan Administration
• Office of Inspector General
• Office of Advocacy
• Entrepreneurial Development Noncredit Programs
• Small Business Development Centers
• Microloan Technical Assistance Program
• Women Business Centers
• SCORE
• Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs
• Veterans Programs
• 7(j) Technical Assistance Program
• Native American Outreach Program
• National Women's Business Council
• HUBZone Administration
• The Entrepreneurial Development Initiative (Regional Innovation Clusters)
• Entrepreneurship Education Initiative
• Growth Accelerator Initiative

Summary

This report examines the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) appropriations (new budget authority, minus rescissions and sequestration) over time, focusing on developments and trends since FY2000. It also provides total available funding (which includes carryover from the prior fiscal year, carryover into the next fiscal year, account transfers, rescissions, and sequestration) and, for entrepreneurial development noncredit programs, actual and anticipated expenditures for comparative purposes.

SBA appropriations, as a whole, have varied significantly from year to year since FY2000 and across all three of the agency's major spending categories: disaster assistance, business loan credit subsidies, and "other programs," a category that includes salaries and expenses, business loan administration, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Advocacy, and entrepreneurial development programs. Overall, the SBA's appropriations have ranged from a high of $2.359 billion in FY2018 to a low of $571.8 million in FY2007. Much of this volatility is due to significant variation in appropriations for disaster assistance, which ranged from a high of $1.7 billion in FY2006 to a low of $0 in FY2009. This variation can be attributed primarily to supplemental appropriations provided to address disaster needs arising from the impact of major hurricanes, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, and more recently, Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

The SBA's appropriations for business loan credit subsidies have also varied since FY2000, ranging from a high of $319.7 million in FY2013 ($337.3 million before sequestration and rescission) to a low of $1.3 million in FY2006 and FY2007. This variation is due to the impact of changing economic conditions on the SBA's guaranteed loan portfolios. During good economic times, revenue from SBA fees and collateral liquidation is typically sufficient to cover the costs of purchasing guaranteed loans that have defaulted. During and immediately following recessions, however, that revenue is typically insufficient to cover the costs of purchasing guaranteed loans that have defaulted.

The SBA's appropriations for other programs, as a collective, have also varied since FY2000, ranging from a high of $1.6253 billion in FY2010 to a low of $455.6 million in FY2007. This variation is primarily due to congressional response to changing economic conditions. For example, Congress approved significant, temporary increases in appropriations for the SBA's other programs spending category in FY2009 and FY2010. Overall, since FY2000, appropriations for other programs have increased at a pace that exceeds inflation. This report provides appropriations for all five major components of the other programs spending category, including the SBA's entrepreneurial development programs.

The SBA's appropriations for FY1954 through FY1999 are provided in the Appendix.

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Introduction

The Small Business Administration (SBA) currently administers several types of programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty and venture capital programs to enhance small businesses' access to capital; contracting programs to increase small businesses' opportunities in federal contracting; direct loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters to aid in their recovery from natural disasters; and small business management and technical assistance training programs to assist in business formation and expansion. Congressional interest in these programs has increased in recent years, primarily because small businesses are viewed as a means to stimulate economic activity and create jobs. Many Members of Congress also regularly receive constituent inquiries about the SBA's programs.

This report examines appropriations for the SBA (new budget authority, minus rescissions and sequestration) over time, focusing on developments and trends since FY2000.

This report also provides total available funding (which includes carryover from the prior fiscal year, carryover into the next fiscal year, account transfers, rescissions, and sequestration) and, for comparative purposes, actual and anticipated expenditures for the SBA's entrepreneurial development noncredit programs.

SBA appropriations, as a whole, have varied significantly from year to year since FY2000 and across all three major SBA spending categories: appropriations for disaster assistance, business loan credit subsidies, and "other programs," a spending category that includes appropriations for salaries and expenses, business loan administration, the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Advocacy, and entrepreneurial development noncredit programs.

The variation in appropriations for disaster assistance since FY2000 is largely due to supplemental appropriations provided to address disaster needs arising from the impact of major hurricanes.

Business loan credit subsidies represent the net present value of cash flows to and from the SBA over the life of the agency's loan portfolios.¹ For guaranteed loans, the net present value of cash flows is affected by several factors, but it is primarily the difference between the cost of purchasing loans that have defaulted and the revenue generated from fees and collateral liquidation. For direct (Microloan) lending, it is primarily the cost of offering below-market interest rates to Microloan intermediaries.²

The variation in appropriations for SBA business loan credit subsidies since FY2000 is primarily due to the impact of changing economic conditions on the SBA's guaranteed loan portfolios. During good economic times, revenue from SBA fees and collateral liquidation is typically sufficient to cover the SBA's cost of purchasing guaranteed loans that have defaulted. During and immediately following economic slowdowns, however, revenue from SBA fees and collateral liquidation is typically insufficient to cover the SBA's cost of purchasing guaranteed loans that have defaulted. The shortfall occurs because the SBA's cost of purchasing guaranteed loans tends to increase when the economy slows (primarily because guaranteed loans are more likely to default during and immediately following recessions) and revenue from loan liquidation tends to be constrained during slow economic times (primarily because commercial real estate values typically fall during and immediately following recessions). As a result, additional appropriations are needed to cover these expenses, which are guaranteed by the "full faith and credit of the United States."

Since FY2000, the variation in appropriations for the other programs spending category is attributable primarily to congressional response to changing economic conditions. As the report will discuss, appropriations for this spending category have generally increased at a pace that exceeds inflation.³ In addition, Congress approved significant, temporary increases in appropriations for SBA programs in the other programs spending category in FY2009 and FY2010. It approved these temporary increases primarily as a means to enhance small businesses' access to capital, which had become constrained during and immediately following the Great Recession (December 2007 to June 2009).⁴

The SBA's appropriations for FY1954 through FY1999 are provided in the Appendix.

SBA Funding Trends: FY2000-FY2020

As shown in Table 1, the SBA's appropriations have varied significantly since FY2000, ranging from a high of $2.359 billion in FY2018 to a low of $571.8 million in FY2007.⁵ Much of this volatility is due to significant variation in appropriations for disaster assistance, which ranged from a high of $1.7 billion in FY2006 to a low of $0 in FY2009. This variation is attributable primarily to supplemental appropriations provided to address disaster needs arising from the impact of major hurricanes, such as Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

In addition, as shown in Table 1, appropriations for business loan credit subsidies have varied significantly since FY2000, ranging from a high of $319.7 million in FY2013 ($337.3 million before sequestration and rescission) to a low of $1.3 million in FY2006 and FY2007. As mentioned previously, the variation in appropriations for business loan credit subsidies results primarily from the impact of changing economic conditions on the SBA's loan portfolios. During good economic times, revenue from fees and collateral liquidation is typically sufficient to cover the costs of purchasing defaulted loans. During and immediately following recessions, revenue from fees and collateral liquidation is typically not sufficient to cover those costs.

As shown in Table 1, appropriations for the all other programs category have also varied since FY2000, ranging from a high of $1.6253 billion in FY2010 to a low of $455.6 million in FY2007. Much of this variation resulted from significant, temporary increases in appropriations for the SBA's other programs in FY2009 ($724 million) and FY2010 ($962.5 million). These additional appropriations were approved primarily as a means to enhance small businesses' access to capital, which had become constrained during and immediately following the Great Recession.⁶ As mentioned previously, from FY2000 to FY2020, appropriations for the SBA's other programs spending category, as a whole, have exceeded the rate of inflation.

For comparative purposes, Table 1 also presents the SBA's total available funds. As indicated in the table, the SBA's carryovers and account transfers tend to reduce variation in its budget from one fiscal year to the next. Much of this "evening out" process is due to disaster assistance appropriations, which are provided in one fiscal year and then typically spent over several fiscal years.

SBA Funding Within the Other Programs Category

The following section examines appropriations and total available funding for FY2000-FY2020 for the five main components of the SBA's other programs spending category: (1) salaries and expenses, (2) business loan administration, (3) the Office of Inspector General (OIG), (4) the Office of Advocacy (Advocacy), and (5) entrepreneurial development (ED) noncredit programs.

Salaries and Expenses

The SBA's salaries and expenses account currently provides funding for the following:

• office operating budgets, which are used by program and administrative offices for daily operations, such as travel, supplies, and contracted services;
• agency-wide costs, such as rent and telecommunications, which are managed centrally;
• employee compensation and benefits, which are also managed centrally; and
• reimbursable expenses for programs for which the SBA receives reimbursable budget authority from other federal government agencies.

Several adjustments were made to the SBA's reported appropriations for its salaries and expenses account to enable meaningful comparisons over time. For example, prior to FY2014, appropriations for the SBA's ED programs were included in the salaries and expenses account. They now have their own, separate appropriations account. Therefore, to allow for meaningful comparisons with current appropriations, Table 2 lists and deducts the reported appropriations for ED programs prior to FY2014 from the reported appropriations for salaries and expenses.

In addition, the SBA previously included appropriations for congressional initiatives (earmarks) under the salaries and expenses account. Therefore, to allow for meaningful comparisons with current appropriations and focus the comparison on administrative expenses, appropriations for earmarks are deducted from the reported appropriations for salaries and expenses.

Prior to FY2012, Advocacy was funded through the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount. Advocacy now has its own, separate appropriations account. To allow for meaningful comparisons with current appropriations, Table 2 lists Advocacy's funding provided through the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount prior to FY2012 and deducts that amount from the reported appropriations for salaries and expenses.

As discussed in greater detail below (see "Office of Advocacy"), data concerning Advocacy's funding provided through the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount are not available for FY2006-FY2010. However, in FY2003, FY2004, and FY2005, Advocacy's funding provided through the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount was 79% of its reported total cost. The estimates provided in the table for FY2006-FY2010 were derived by multiplying Advocacy's total program cost reported for each of those fiscal years by 79%.

As shown in Table 2, the SBA's appropriations for salaries and expenses have varied from year to year, with increases in some years and decreases in others. Overall, appropriations for the SBA's salaries and expenses have increased from $176.49 million in FY2000 to $267.5270.157 million in FY2020 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69, the Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2020. This increase has exceeded the rate of inflation.⁷

The SBA has statutory authorization to transfer appropriations from the business loan administration account into the salaries and expenses account. As evidenced by the amounts listed in the total available funds column in the table, the SBA exercised that authority in every fiscal year from FY2000 to FY2019 (and is expected to do so in FY2020), transferring the entire appropriation for business loan administration into the salaries and expenses account in each of those fiscal years.

Business Loan Administration

Appropriations for the SBA's business loan administration account have varied since FY2000, increasing in some years and decreasing in others (see Table 3).⁸ Overall, appropriations for SBA business loan administration increased from $129 million in FY2000 to $155.15 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. The program's recommended appropriations have not kept pace with inflation.⁹

As evidenced by the $0.0 balance in the total funds available column for the business loan administration account, the SBA has routinely transferred all business loan administration appropriations to the salaries and expenses account. The combined appropriations for SBA salaries and expenses and business loan administration increased from $305.49 million in FY2000 to $422.65425.307 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has not kept pace with inflation.¹⁰

Office of Inspector General

¹¹

According to the SBA, the OIG's mission is to "provide independent, objective oversight to improve the integrity, accountability, and performance of the SBA and its programs for the benefit of the American people."¹¹12 The office was created within the SBA by the Inspector General Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-452, as amended). The inspector general, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, directs the office. The Inspector General Act provides the OIG with the following responsibilities:

• promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in the management of SBA programs and supporting operations;
• conduct and supervise audits, investigations, and reviews relating to the SBA's programs and support operations;
• detect and prevent fraud, waste, and abuse;
• review existing and proposed legislation and regulations and make appropriate recommendations;
• maintain effective working relationships with other governmental agencies and nongovernmental entities regarding the inspector general's mandated duties;
• keep the SBA administrator and Congress informed of serious problems and recommend corrective actions and implementation measures;
• comply with the comptroller general's audit standards;
• avoid duplication of Government Accountability Office activities; and
• report violations of federal criminal law to the U.S. attorney general.¹²

13As shown in Table 4, the OIG's appropriations have increased from $11.405 million in FY2000 to $23.5 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has exceeded the rate of inflation.¹³

14

The OIG typically receives a transfer of appropriations from the disaster assistance account for auditing expenses. It was also provided additional appropriations in FY2006, FY2013, and FY2018 for expenses related to the review of SBA disaster loans following major hurricanes (e.g., Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma in 2005, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2018) and in FY2009 to conduct reviews and audits of $730 million provided to the SBA by P.L. 111-5, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Office of Advocacy¹⁴

15

The SBA indicates that its Office of Advocacy is "an independent voice for small business within the federal government" that is responsible for advancing the views and concerns of small businesses before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, the federal courts, and state and local policymakers.¹⁵16 The chief counsel for Advocacy, who is nominated by the President from civilian life and confirmed by the Senate, directs the office. Advocacy's mission is to "encourage policies that support the development and growth of American small businesses" by

• serving as a focal point for the receipt of complaints, criticisms, and suggestions concerning the policies and activities of the Administration and any other federal agency that affects small businesses;
• counsel small businesses on how to resolve questions and problems concerning the relationship of the small business to the federal government;
• developing proposals for changes in the policies and activities of any federal agency that will better fulfill the purposes of the Small Business Act and communicate such proposals to the appropriate federal agencies;
• intervening early in federal agencies' regulatory development processes on proposals that affect small businesses and providing Regulatory Flexibility Act compliance training to federal agency policymakers and regulatory development officials;¹⁶
17
• producing research to inform policymakers and other stakeholders on the impact of federal regulatory burdens on small businesses, document the vital role of small businesses in the economy, and explore and explain the wide variety of issues of concern to the small business community; and
• fostering two-way communication between federal agencies and the small business community.¹⁷

18As shown in Table 5, Advocacy's funding has increased from $5.62 million in FY2000 to $9.12 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has exceeded the rate of inflation.¹⁸

19

P.L. 111-240, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, enhanced Advocacy's independence by ending the practice of funding Advocacy through the SBA's salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount. Instead, P.L. 111-240 requires the President to provide a separate statement of the appropriations request for Advocacy, "which shall be designated in a separate account in the General Fund of the Treasury." The act also requires the SBA administrator to provide Advocacy with "appropriate and adequate office space at central and field office locations, together with such equipment, operating budget, and communications facilities and services as may be necessary, and ... necessary maintenance services for such offices and the equipment and facilities located in such offices." In addition, Congress has provided Advocacy its own, separate appropriations amount since FY2012.

As mentioned previously, prior to FY2012, the SBA reported Advocacy's total program cost, which includes funding provided through the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount, agency-wide overhead costs (rent, telecommunications, etc.), and other support costs (e.g., management and administrative support, including human resources support). From FY2000 to FY2005, the SBA provided relatively detailed information concerning Advocacy's budget, including the amount of funding Advocacy received through the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount. Also, Advocacy's FY2013 congressional budget justification document included the amount of funding Advocacy received through the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount in FY2011. However, those data are not available for FY2006-FY2010, and it was therefore necessary to estimate Advocacy's funding from the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount for those years. The estimates provided in the table were derived by multiplying Advocacy's total program cost for each of those fiscal years by 79%, which was the proportion of Advocacy's total program costs provided from the salaries and expenses' executive direction subaccount in FY2003, FY2004, and FY2005.

Entrepreneurial Development Noncredit Programs¹⁹

20

The SBA's entrepreneurial development (ED) noncredit programs provide a variety of management and training services to small businesses. Congress provides appropriations for

• eight management and technical assistance training programs: Small Business Development Centers, the Microloan Technical Assistance Program, Women Business Centers, SCORE, the Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME), Veterans Programs (including Veterans Business Outreach Centers, Boots to Business, Boots to Business: Reboot, Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship [VWISE], and Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities), the 7(j) Technical Assistance Program, and the Native American Outreach Program;
• two relatively long-standing nontraining programs: the National Women's Business Council and HUBZone administration;
• three initiatives: the Entrepreneurial Development Initiative (Clusters), the Entrepreneurship Education Initiative, and Growth Accelerators; and
• the Step Trade and Export Promotion (STEP) Pilot Grant program.²⁰

21Initially, the SBA provided its own management and technical assistance training programs. Over time, however, the SBA has increasingly relied on third parties to provide that training. The SBA reports that more than 1 million aspiring entrepreneurs and small business owners receive training from an SBA-supported resource partner each year.²¹

22

Congress specifies appropriations in appropriations acts for the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program, the Microloan Technical Assistance program, and the STEP program. Congress provides an overall appropriation for the SBA's ED programs and recommends appropriations for the SBA's other ED programs, typically in the conference agreement or "Explanatory Statement" accompanying the appropriations act. As a result, the following tables refer to appropriations for the SBDC and Microloan Technical Assistance programs and recommended appropriations for other ED programs. Although not legally binding, the SBA has traditionally adhered to these recommended funding amounts.

Small Business Development Centers

SBDCs provide free or low-cost assistance to small businesses using programs customized to local conditions. SBDCs support small business in marketing and business strategy, finance, technology transfer, government contracting, management, manufacturing, engineering, sales, accounting, exporting, and other topics. They are funded by grants from the SBA and matching funds. There are 63 lead SBDC service centers, at least one in each state (with four in Texas and six in California), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. These lead SBDC service centers manage more than 900 SBDC outreach locations.

As shown in Table 6, appropriations for SBDCs have increased from $84.179 million in FY2000 to $131135 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has exceeded the rate of inflation.²²23 In addition, as shown in the table, SBDCs received an additional $50 million in temporary funding in FY2010, which was spent over two fiscal years.²³

24

The SBA reports actual and anticipated expenditures for its ED programs in its annual budget justification document. SBDC expenditures in FY2000-FY2018 and anticipated SBDC expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

Microloan Technical Assistance Program

The SBA's Microloan lending program is designed to address the perceived disadvantages faced by women, low-income, veteran, and minority entrepreneurs and business owners in gaining access to capital for starting or expanding their business (see P.L. 102-140, the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1992). Under the Microloan program, the SBA provides direct loans to qualified nonprofit intermediary Microloan lenders who, in turn, provide "microloans" of up to $50,000 to small business owners, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit child care centers.

The SBA's Microloan Technical Assistance program is part of the SBA's Microloan program but receives a separate appropriation. It provides grants to Microloan intermediaries to offer management and technical training assistance to Microloan program borrowers and prospective borrowers.²⁴25 There are currently 147 active Microloan intermediaries, serving 49 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.²⁵

26

As shown in Table 7, the Microloan Technical Assistance program's appropriations have varied over the years. Overall, Microloan Technical Assistance Program appropriations have increased from $23.112 million in FY2000 to $3134.5 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has been less thanexceeded the rate of inflation.²⁶27

Microloan Technical Assistance expenditures in FY2000-FY2018 and anticipated Microloan Technical Assistance expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

Women Business Centers

The Women's Business Center (WBC) Renewable Grant Program was initially established by P.L. 100-533, the Women's Business Ownership Act of 1988, as the Women's Business Demonstration Pilot Program. The act directed the SBA to provide financial assistance to private, nonprofit organizations to conduct demonstration projects providing financial, management, and marketing assistance to small businesses, including start-up businesses, owned and controlled by women. Since its inception, the program has targeted the needs of socially and economically disadvantaged women.²⁷28 The WBC program was expanded and provided permanent legislative status by P.L. 109-108, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006.

Currently, there are 116115 WBCs located throughout most of the United States and the territories.²⁸

29

As shown in Table 8, WBC's recommended appropriations have increased from $8.966 million in FY2000 to $1822.5 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has exceeded the rate of inflation.²⁹30

WBC expenditures in FY2000-FY2018 and anticipated WBC expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

SCORE

The SBA provides financial assistance to SCORE (formerly the Service Corps of Retired Executives) to provide in-person mentoring and online training to small business owners and prospective owners.³⁰31 SCORE's 320 chapters and more than 800 branch offices are located throughout the United States and partner with more than 11,000 volunteer counselors, who are working or retired business owners, executives and corporate leaders, to provide management and training assistance to small businesses "at no charge or at very low cost."³¹

32

As shown in Table 9, SCORE's recommended appropriations have increased from $3.487 million in FY2000 to $11.700 in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has exceeded the rate of inflation.³²33

SCORE expenditures in FY2000-FY2018 and anticipated SCORE expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs

The Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME) provides grants to nonprofit microenterprise development organizations or programs that have "a demonstrated record of delivering microenterprise services to disadvantaged entrepreneurs; an intermediary; a microenterprise development organization or program that is accountable to a local community, working in conjunction with a state or local government or Indian tribe; or an Indian tribe acting on its own, if the Indian tribe can certify that no private organization or program referred to in this paragraph exists within its jurisdiction."³³

34

As shown in Table 10, PRIME's recommended appropriations have varied, starting at $14.964 million in FY2001 (the program's first recommended appropriation) and falling to $2 million in FY2006 and FY2007. PRIME has received $5 million since FY2015received a recommended appropriation of $5.5 million in FY2020.

PRIME expenditures in FY2001-FY2018 and anticipated PRIME expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

The Obama Administration argued that PRIME overlaps and duplicates the SBA's Microloan Technical Assistance program and recommended in its FY2012-FY2017 budget requests that PRIME receive no appropriations. As shown in the table, in FY2013, the Obama Administration eliminated PRIME's appropriation as part of the SBA's sequestration process.

The Trump Administration recommended in its FY2018, FY2019, and FY2020 budget requests that the PRIME program receive no appropriations.³⁴

35

Veterans Programs

The SBA's Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) administers several management and training programs to assist veteran-owned businesses, including

• the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities Consortium of Universities, which provides "experiential training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 veterans with disabilities" at eight universities;³⁵36
• the Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE) program, which is administered through a cooperative agreement with Syracuse University, offers women veterans a 15-day, online course focused on entrepreneurship skills and the "language of business," followed by a 3-day conference (offered twice a year at varying locations) in which participants "are exposed to successful entrepreneurs and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies and leaders in government" and participate in courses on business planning, marketing, accounting and finance, operations and production, human resources, and work-life balance;³⁶
37
• the Operation Endure and Grow Program, which is administered through a cooperative agreement with Syracuse University, offers an eight-week online training program "focused on the fundamentals of launching and/or growing a small business" and is available to National Guard and reservists and their family members;³⁷38
• the Boots to Business program (started in 2012), which is "an elective track within the Department of Defense's revised Training Assistance Program called Transition Goals, Plans, Success (Transition GPS) and has three parts: the Entrepreneurship Track Overview—a 10-minute introductory video shown during the mandatory five-day Transition GPS course which introduces entrepreneurship as a post-service career option; Introduction to Entrepreneurship—a two-day classroom course on entrepreneurship and business fundamentals offered as one of the three Transition GPS elective tracks; and Foundations of Entrepreneurship—an eight-week, instructor-led online course that offers in-depth instruction on the elements of a business plan and tips and techniques for starting a business";³⁸39
• the Boots to Business Reboot program (started in 2014), which assists veterans who have already transitioned to civilian life;³⁹40 and
• the Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC) program, which provides veterans and their spouses management and technical assistance training at 1522 locations, including assistance with the Boots to Business program, the development and maintenance of a five-year business plan, and referrals to other SBA resource partners when appropriate for additional training or mentoring services.⁴⁰41

Prior to FY2016, Congress recommended appropriations for VBOCs and, in FY2014 and FY2015, for the Boots to Business initiative ($7 million in FY2014 and $7.5 million in FY2015). Funding for the OVBD's other veterans assistance programs were provided through the SBA's salaries and expenses account.

Starting in FY2016, Congress has recommended appropriations for OVBD's programs as a whole: $12.3 million in FY2016, FY2017, and FY2018, $12.7 million in FY2019, and $12.714 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has not kept pace withexceeded the rate of inflation.⁴¹

42

OVBD expenditures in FY2015-FY2018 and anticipated OVBD expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

Recommended appropriations for VBOCs from FY2000-FY2015 are presented in Table 12 for historical comparisons. As the data indicate, recommended appropriations for VBOCs increased from $0.613 million in FY2000 to $3 million in FY2015. This increase exceeded the rate of inflation.⁴²43

OVBD expenditures in FY2000-FY2015 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

7(j) Technical Assistance Program

The SBA's 7(j) Technical Assistance Program provides "a wide variety of management and technical assistance to eligible individuals or concerns to meet their specific needs, including: (a) counseling and training in the areas of financing, management, accounting, bookkeeping, marketing, and operation of small business concerns; and (b) the identification and development of new business opportunities."⁴³44 Eligible individuals and businesses include "8(a) certified firms, small disadvantaged businesses, businesses operating in areas of high unemployment, or low income or firms owned by low income individuals."⁴⁴

45

As shown in Table 13, recommended appropriations for the 7(j) Technical Assistance Program have varied since FY2000, with increases in some years and decreases in others. Overall, the SBA's 7(j) Technical Assistance Program's recommended appropriations have decreased from $3.584 million in FY2000 to $2.8 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69.

7(j) Technical Assistance Program expenditures in FY2000-FY2018 and anticipated 7(j) Technical Assistance Program expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

Native American Outreach Program

The SBA's Native American Outreach (NAO) program provides management and technical educational assistance to American Indians, Alaska natives, native Hawaiians, and "the indigenous people of Guam and American Samoa … to promote entity-owned and individual 8(a) certification, government contracting, entrepreneurial education, and capital access."⁴⁵46 The program's management and technical assistance services are available to members of these groups living in most areas of the nation.⁴⁶

47

As shown in Table 14, the NAO program's recommended appropriations have varied somewhat since FY2003 (the first year it received recommended appropriations), ranging from $1 million to $2 million. The program's recommended appropriations have not kept pace with inflation.⁴⁷48 NAO program expenditures in FY2003-FY2018 and anticipated NAO expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

National Women's Business Council

The National Women's Business Council (NWBC) is a bipartisan federal advisory council created to serve as an independent source of advice and counsel to the President, Congress, and the SBA on economic issues of importance to women business owners. The council's mission "is to promote bold initiatives, policies, and programs designed to support women's business enterprises at all stages of development in the public and private sector marketplaces—from start-up to success to significance."⁴⁸

49

As shown in Table 15, the recommended appropriation for the NWBC has increased from $0.598 million in FY2000 to $1.5 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. This increase has exceeded the rate of inflation.⁴⁹50

NWBC expenditures in FY2000-FY2018 and NWBC anticipated expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

HUBZone Administration

The HUBZone program helps small businesses located in designated Historically Underutilized Business Zones (HUBZones) to compete for federal contracts. Federal agencies may award contracts directly to HUBZone-certified small businesses through a sole-source contract, limit contact competitions to HUBZone-certified firms through a contract set-aside, or provide HUBZone-certified firms a price evaluation preference in full and open competitions.⁵⁰

51

The HUBZone program was initially funded through the SBA's salary and expenses account. As shown in Table 16, Congress started recommending an appropriation for the program in FY2004. This recommended appropriation remained relatively stable until FY2015, when it increased to $3 million. With this increase, the HUBZone program's recommended appropriations have exceeded the rate of inflation.⁵¹52

The HUBZone program's expenditures in FY2000-FY2018 and the HUBZone program's anticipated expenditures in FY2019 are presented in the table's last column for comparative purposes.

The Entrepreneurial Development Initiative (Regional Innovation Clusters)

The SBA reports that "regional innovation clusters are on-the-ground collaborations between business, research, education, financing and government institutions that work to develop and grow a particular industry or related set of industries in a particular geographic region."⁵²53 The SBA has supported regional innovative clusters since FY2009, and the initiative has received recommended appropriations from Congress since FY2010.

As shown in Table 17, funding for the Entrepreneurial Development Initiative (Regional Innovation Clusters) has been reduced from a recommended appropriation of $10 million in FY2010 to $5 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. The table's last column indicates that the SBA's expenditures for the initiative have often been less than the amount appropriated.

The Trump Administration recommended in its FY2018, FY2019, and FY2020 budget requests that the Entrepreneurial Development Initiative receive no appropriations.⁵³

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Entrepreneurship Education Initiative

The SBA's Entrepreneurship Education initiative offers high‐growth small businesses in underserved communities "a seven‐month executive leader education series" consisting of "more than 100 hours of specialized training, technical resources, a professional networking system, and other resources to strengthen their business model and promote economic development within urban communities."⁵⁴55 At the conclusion of the training, "participants produce a three‐year strategic growth action plan with benchmarks and performance targets that help them access the necessary support and resources to move forward for the next stage of business growth."⁵⁵

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As shown in Table 18, the Entrepreneurship Education initiative received its first recommended appropriation from Congress in FY2014 ($5 million), $7 million in FY2015, $10 million in FY2016, FY2017, and FY2018, $3.5 million in FY2019, and $32.5 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69.

Growth Accelerator Initiative

The SBA describes growth accelerators as "organizations that help entrepreneurs start and scale their businesses."⁵⁶57 Growth accelerators are typically run by experienced entrepreneurs and help small businesses access seed capital and mentors. The SBA claims that growth accelerators "help accelerate a startup company's path towards success with targeted advice on revenue growth, employee growth, sourcing outside funding and avoiding pitfalls."⁵⁷58

As shown in Table 19, the Growth Accelerator initiative received its first recommended appropriation from Congress in FY2014 ($2.5 million), $4 million in FY2015, $1 million in FY2016, FY2017, and FY2018, $2 million in FY2019, and $2 million in FY2020 under P.L. 116-69. It provides $50,000 matching grants each year to universities and private sector accelerators "to support the development of accelerators and their support of startups in parts of the country where there are fewer conventional sources of access to capital (i.e., venture capital and other investors)."⁵⁸

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The Trump Administration recommended in its FY2018, FY2019, and FY2020 budget requests that the Growth Accelerator Initiative receive no appropriations.⁵⁹

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Appendix. SBA Appropriations, FY1954-FY1999