Posted by Katie Vlietstra-- Nearly one year after Karen Mills announced her resignation as head of the Small Business Administration, President Obama announced the nomination of Maria Contreras-Sweet to lead the organization pending Senate confirmation.
Maria Contreras-Sweet, herself previously a small business owner, comes to the position with significant private and public sector experience that will no doubt be significantly important to her as she works to quickly move on key areas of concerns for the small business community, including the continued implementation and impact of the Affordable Care Act on small businesses, access to capital, and continued regulatory burdens faced by all small businesses.
“We are optimistic that with the announcement of Maria Contreras-Sweet to lead the Small Business Administration, President Obama and his Administration will be focused on fostering and encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit of this country, including for the 23 million self-employed who are working tirelessly each an everyday to achieve the American Dream.
“The year ahead is full of critical challenges that the NASE is eager to work to address with the leadership of the SBA, ranging from the implementation of the new health care law to tax filing changes to the continued inequity in the tax code faced by the self-employed. Our community will need a strong and vocal advocate inside the Administration to ensure we have the tools and resources to be competitive not only locally, but also globally.
“We look forward to working with Administrator-designee Contreras-Sweet, the Administration and Congress to ensure our community continues to strengthen our economy.”
The nomination of Contreras-Sweet is accepted to move quickly though the United States Senate.