Created in 1953. Its 7(a) and 504 guarantee programs back tens of billions in private small-business lending a year, and it became a household name running the pandemic-era PPP program.
Open the interactive page for SBA →Created bySmall Business Act of 1953 (title II of P.L. 83-163); reenacted as the freestanding Small Business Act by P.L. 85-536 (1958)
Head appointed15 U.S.C. § 633(b)(1): Administrator appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; no fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory protection — at will
Funded underannual Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act (salaries/expenses and loan-program subsidy appropriations; 7(a) guarantee and yearly fees under 15 U.S.C. § 636(a)(18), (23) and 504 debenture fees under 15 U.S.C. § 697(b) offset loan costs)
Congressional oversightHouse Small Business · Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship
Inspector generalown SBA OIG — PAS IG under the IG Act (5 U.S.C. § 403(a))
Judicial reviewAPA § 702; sue-and-be-sued clause at 15 U.S.C. § 634(b)(1) (jurisdiction in district courts, with limits on attachment and injunctive relief against the Administrator); size/8(a) determinations go through SBA's Office of Hearings and Appeals before court review
Apply for its loan, counseling, and small-business contracting programs; comment on lending rules; ask your members of Congress, who set SBA's programs and budget.