Reducing Barriers and Improving Government Regulation

At SBA, we are committed to improving the regulatory environment and making it easier for small businesses to grow and create jobs. This spring, the Startup America initiative went on the road to hold a series of Reducing Barriers roundtables. Top SBA and Obama administration officials heard directly from entrepreneurs and small business owners about how we can remove barriers to growth, at SBA and throughout the government.

At the same time, President Obama has called for a government-wide review of rules and regulations to look at ways we can cut costs and reduce burdens for businesses and consumers. In keeping with the President’s executive order, SBA took a good look at how we can improve the rules on our books.

Many of the opportunities for improvement that we identified were similar to suggestions that came up during the Startup America: Reducing Barriers roundtables. Here are a few of those ideas we are taking a look at that came up in both the roundtables and our look-back:

• A one-stop-shop online for the SBIR program.
• A uniform certification process for SBA contracting programs, such as 8(a), HUBZone, and the Women-Owned Small Business program.
• An online portal to better distribute materials and literature out to our field offices and resource partners.

These are just a few of the ways in which we are committed to streamlining our programs and reducing barriers for small businesses. They show how we can be good stewards of taxpayer dollars while making it easier and more cost effective for small businesses to get the tools they need. I’m excited to do more on this initiative in the weeks and months ahead.

For more information on our plan, and others throughout the administration, please visit www.whitehouse.gov/regulatoryreform.

About the Author

Marie Johns is Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. She is responsible for management and oversight of the agency, and leads the agency’s efforts to reach underserved communities.