Barreto to Step Down As Head of SBA

[ProSense]

April 25, 2006, 1:12PM
Barreto to Step Down As Head of SBA

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER AP Economics Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The head of the Small Business Administration, criticized by congressional Democrats for delays in providing loans following last year's hurricanes, announced Tuesday that he was stepping down.

Hector Barreto, picked by President Bush to head the SBA in 2001, said he was leaving the administration to head The Latino Coalition, a prominent Hispanic advocacy group based in Washington.

His departure comes at a time when new White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten is shaking up the administration in the face of record low approval ratings for the president and calls from Republicans in Congress for a staff overhaul.

Snip...

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., ranking Democrat on a Senate committee overseeing the SBA, had also been highly critical of Barreto's actions following Hurricane Katrina, charging that "the SBA has ignored Gulf Coast small businesses."

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/politics/3818474.html

[TayTay]

1. OH NO! Say it isn't so, please!

Help Wanted: Middle management type with business background to sit at desk at mid-size Federal Agency. Must have extraordinary navel-gazing abilities as well as be able to point at meaningless powerpoint charts and say, 'Yes, yes we did, Senator' 4 times or so a year. Must be a good apple polisher and have zen-like ability to sit at Senate Hearings and nod head as if the question is actually being understood.

I am going to miss Hector. No one, but no one, has ever been a better foil for Sen. Kerry. Hector is the King of all incompetents. Is he being promoted? Medal of Freedom maybe?

[karynnj]

2. Kerry has been "highly critical"?

I never thought "highly critical" could be an understatement.

[ProSense]

3. Kerry's statement

Sen. John Kerry's Reaction on the Resignation of Small Business Administration Chief Hector Barreto

4/25/2006 3:06:00 PM

To: National Desk, Business Reporter

Contact: Kathryn Seck of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 202-224-9431

WASHINGTON, April 25 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is reaction from Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on today's resignation of Small Business Administration Chief Hector Barreto:

"The President has a real opportunity here to show a commitment to helping America's small businesses from all sectors succeed. His true colors will be revealed in his choice. America's entrepreneurs need an advocate, not more of the same Bush Administration big business agenda.

"In the last five years, we have seen the complete and utter abandonment of our small businesses courtesy of the Bush Administration. Since George Bush took office, the SBA's budget has been slashed by more than 40 percent, critical lending and counseling programs have been on the chopping block, and we have witnessed the most abysmal response to the needs of Gulf Coast victims devastated by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

"It's time for a change."

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=64545