This year 2003 is already proving to be an exciting one for small business in America. The U.S. Small Business Administration will observe its 50th anniversary by celebrating the accomplishments of small-business owners across the country throughout the year.

Since its inception in 1953 the SBA has helped more than 20 million Americans start, grow and expand their businesses – placing more than $170 billion in direct or guaranteed loans into the hands of entrepreneurs. From the President down to your local SBA district office the nation is celebrating one of the most effective economic development agencies in the federal government. The SBA’s 50th anniversary gives us a good opportunity to reflect on our history, and to plan innovative methods of serving America’s small businesses.

Although the SBA was officially established in 1953, its philosophy and mission were shaped years earlier through predecessor agencies, largely as a response to the pressures of the Great Depression and World War II. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, created by President Herbert Hoover in 1932 to alleviate the financial crisis of the Great Depression, was SBA's grandparent. The RFC was basically a federal lending program for businesses large and small hurt by the Depression. It became the personal project of Hoover's successor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Concern for small business intensified during World War II when large industries beefed up production to accommodate wartime defense contracts, and smaller businesses had difficulty competing. To help small businesses participate in war production and give them more financial viability, Congress created the Smaller War Plants Corporation in 1942. The SWPC provided direct loans to private entrepreneurs, encouraged large financial institutions to make credit available to small enterprises, and advocated small business interests to federal procurement agencies and big businesses.

The SWPC was dissolved after the war, and its lending and contract powers were handed over to the RFC. At this time, the Office of Small Business in the Department of Commerce also assumed some responsibilities that would later become characteristic duties of the SBA. Its services were primarily educational. Believing that a lack of information and expertise was the main cause of small-business failure, the OSB produced brochures and conducted management counseling for individual entrepreneurs.

Congress created another wartime organization to handle small business concerns during the Korean War, this time called the Small Defense Plants Administration. Its functions were similar to those of the SWPC, except that ultimate lending authority was retained by the RFC. The SDPA certified small businesses to the RFC when it had determined the businesses to be competent to perform the work of government contracts.

By 1952, a move was on to abolish the RFC. To continue the important functions of the earlier agencies, President Dwight Eisenhower proposed creation of a new small business agency -- the Small Business Administration.
In the Small Business Act of July 30, 1953, Congress created the Small Business Administration, whose function was to "aid, counsel, assist and protect, insofar as is possible, the interests of small business concerns." The charter also stipulated that the SBA would ensure small businesses a "fair proportion" of government contracts and sales of surplus property. By 1954, the SBA already was making direct business loans and guaranteeing bank loans to small businesses, as well as making loans to victims of natural disasters, working to get government procurement contracts for small businesses and helping business owners with management and technical assistance and business training.

Over the past 50 years, the SBA has expanded its array of programs tailored to encourage small enterprises. Agency programs include financial and federal contract procurement assistance, management assistance and specialized outreach to women, minorities and veterans. The SBA also provides loans to victims of natural disasters and specialized advice and assistance in international trade. Nearly 20 million small businesses have received direct or indirect help from SBA programs since 1953, as the agency has become the government's most cost-effective instrument for economic development. In fact, SBA's current business loan portfolio of roughly 219,000 loans worth more than $45 billion makes it the largest single financial backer of U.S. businesses in the nation. Last fiscal year alone, the SBA backed more than $12.3 billion in loans to small businesses. More than $1 billion was made available for disaster loans, and more than $40 billion in federal contracts was secured by small businesses with SBA's help.

But the SBA is not resting on its laurels. We’re reaching more customers by listening to the concerns small businesses have and responding accordingly. We’re transforming the agency to become more customer-centric for America’s entrepreneurs. Simply put, the professional SBA team is dedicated to the delivery of quality customer-oriented service.

We’re modernizing the way we do business, and technology is helping us. Our Web site has been updated to be more user-friendly, and we offer a number of free “e-publications” containing useful information for small business owners or those hoping to become small business owners. In partnership with Staples, we offer a free subscription to the e-newsletter “SBA Solutions.” To receive the newsletter, go to http://web.sba.gov/list/.

We’re also simplifying the way we do business. We’ve streamlined our forms and processes, and we offer round the clock access through our Internet site at www.sba.gov. We’re offering innovative solutions, products and services designed specifically for small businesses.

To kick off our golden anniversary events in August, we will commemorate the signing of the Small Business Act at President Eisenhower’s Library and Museum in Abilene, Kan. In September the SBA will hold its first National Entrepreneurial Conference and Expo in Washington, D.C. The event will include activities of great interest to women-owned businesses: a trade show, procurement and lending matchmaking, business sessions, town halls, and award ceremonies where state and national small-business winners will be recognized. The conference wraps up with a gala dinner to which President Bush has been invited as keynote speaker.

During our 50th anniversary we will also open the SBA’s Hall of Fame, honoring those small-business owners who have achieved the American Dream and who exemplify the best traits of entrepreneurs.

As part of this year-long celebration, there will also be events at the local level where outstanding state and regional small businesses will be recognized… and where their opinions on the public policies that impact their businesses will be sought.

In the last 50 years, the SBA’s backing has been crucial to starting up companies like Apple Computer, Nike, Federal Express and Intel. Empowering the nation’s 22.4 million small businesses so they can flourish and be successful is the SBA’s top priority. SBA’s programs and services help keep intact the heritage of ingenuity and enterprise and they help keep the "American Dream" within the reach of millions of Americans. Every step of the way, SBA is there to help them.