An Interview with Advocacy Chief Counsel Tom Sullivan

Posted on | February 28, 2008 | Comments Off

Today, the SBA Office of Advocacy will announce their ten recommended regulations for review and reform, as nominated by small business owners and advocates, at a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington.

Sadly, I’m going to miss that press conference but I’ve got the next best thing. On February 11th, I got a chance to sit down for an extended telephone chat with Tom Sullivan, Chief Counsel (aka head honcho) at Advocacy.

I could be wrong but I think he had a cold.

In case you didn’t know, the SBA Office of Advocacy was created in 1976 to serve as the watchdog for small business concerns, particularly in matters of proposed federal regulations and legislation. Another office in Advocacy, the National Ombudsman and its ten regional offices, acts as go-between for small businesses having regulatory compliance issues over existing regulations. In addition, Advocacy funds and publishes a large chunk of the small business research that happens in the country, making them a crucial source of information on small businesses, their demographics and their policy needs.

There are a lot of potential highlights in this interview but, for me, the most intriguing was his rather touching faith in the “power of microbusiness” (as he put it). He seemed to think that, as their numbers and revenues grow, their ability to influence the policy discussion in Washington will increase.

I said it was touching. (Okay, so I’m a cynic. So, shoot me.)

Anyway, we talked about Advocacy’s outstanding regulatory work and what’s left on the agenda between now and the end of Tom’s service when President Bush leaves office. We talked about the surge in microbusiness numbers and the shrinking middle. We talked a bit about the small business research that Congress funds but doesn’t read.

If I do say so myself, it’s a good interview with one of the good guys.

But see for yourself:

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For more information

SBA Office of Advocacy
Chief Counsel, Tom Sullivan (bio)
Advocacy r3 Initiative

[tags]SBA Office of Advocacy, Tom Sullivan, small business, microbusiness, regulations, small business research[/tags]


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