Small Business: Issues, Programs and Investments

The Small Business Administration (SBA) administers several types of programs to support small businesses, including loan guaranty and venture capital programs to enhance small business access to capital; contracting programs to increase small business opportunities in federal contracting; direct loan programs for businesses, homeowners, and renters to assist their recovery from natural disasters; and small business management and technical assistance training programs to assist business formation and expansion. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the SBA's programs. Chapter 2 analyzes SBA's prior and revised scorecard methodology and results. Chapter 3 describes the Small Business Investment Company (SBI)C program's structure and operations, focusing on SBIC eligibility requirements, investment activity, and program statistics. Chapter 4 addresses a core issue facing the 116th Congress: What, if any, additional action should the federal government take to enhance small business access to capital? It discusses the role of small business in job creation and retention, then provides an assessment of the supply and demand for small business loans and recently enacted laws designed to enhance small business access to capital by increasing either the supply of small business loans or the demand for small business loans, or both. Chapter 5 examines the historical development of federal disaster assistance to help explain possible reasons why businesses are currently provided disaster loans rather than grants. Chapter 6 provides a historical examination of the SBA's size standards and assesses competing views concerning how to define a small business.