Politics, Republicans
Who? George Bush’s lightning-quick nomination of Steven Preston to replace retiring Hector Barreto as head the Small Business Administration may have many folks wondering who the heck he is and why Bush picked him. But “Businessweek” notes that the self-described “committed Republican” from Chicago can expect a rough time in his confirmation hearings.
What’s the connection? Preston’s a crony of a Bush crony, of course.
Preston worked at ServiceMaster while Claire Buchan, currently the chief of staff for Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, was a vice-president for communications at the company. Buchan held a variety of jobs in the Reagan Administration and the first Bush Administration, moving to ServiceMaster when Bill Clinton was elected.
“While ServiceMaster is a large company, it’s comprised of many smaller franchises that are mom and pop businesses. So I think he [Steven Preston] really has the right combination of small- and big-business experience,” says Buchan. Before coming to ServiceMaster, Preston was senior vice-president and treasurer of First Data Corp., and an investment banker at Lehman Brothers.
In other words, Preston is not and never has been an entrepreneur or small-business operator. And, according to “Businessweek,” franchiser ServiceMaster has been an enemy of small business for a number of years.
Indeed, the American Small Business League has come out strongly against Preston’s nomination:
“We don’t need another unqualified SBA Administrator,” stated Lloyd Chapman, President of the American Small Business League. “Hector Barreto’s dismal track record is a clear indication of what happens when you appoint someone that has no qualifications to run an important Federal agency. I’m afraid this nomination signals a continuation of the Bush administration’s intention to continue to dismantle the agency.
“I predict that we will not see Mr. Preston do anything to address the eleven Federal investigations that have found billions of dollars in small business contracts have been diverted to large firms as a result of fraud, abuse, and lack of oversight. If Preston is approved, he will likely foster policies that will act as barriers to small firms doing business with the Federal government and continue to allow awards to Fortune 1000 companies to be reported as small business contracts.”
Chapman added, “Republicans since Ronald Reagan have been trying to close the SBA and abolish Federal small business contracting programs. If the Democrats fail to take over Congress in the fall, it is likely that Bush will close the agency before the end of his presidency. It’s time for small business owners to band together and fight to keep these programs. We’re talking about $119 billion in Federal prime contracts and subcontracts – and once it’s gone, we will never get it back.”
If the 45-year-old Preston does weather the confirmation process, Washington insiders say he will inherit a mess at the SBA, which, according to “Inc.” Magazine, has been soundly criticized for its handling of recovery efforts in the Gulf Coast, among other shortcomings, and “many Beltway insiders say managing a growing backlog of disaster loans will likely become his full-time job.
According to “Inc.,” to date the SBA has received some 407,500 applications for low-interest recovery and rebuilding loans from individuals and small businesses since Hurricane Katrina struck in August 2005. It has approved just 121,300 of those, worth a total of about $8 billion.
“Inc.” noted that Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.), the ranking Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, issued a statement Wednesday that said Preston was “coming to the agency from a Fortune 500 company whose issues are nothing like those faced by the average small business owner.”
Velazquez, an outspoken critic of the SBA under Barreto, said she looks forward to hearing how Preston plans to address issues including the agency’s contracting system, which has routinely missed federal targets for contracts to women- and minority-owned businesses in recent years.
Topics: Politics, Republicans
Reading your piece on the nomination of Steve Preston to head the SBA makes me wonder if all your commentary is as superficial. If you really wanted to do an honest piece you might check into his past and personal life just a bit. I don’t know anything about other Bush appointees but I grew up with this one. He was raised in a home which lived from paycheck to paycheck, with our father at one time working 2 full-time jobs and 1 part-time job. Our dad worked in, owned or was in management of small businesses most of his working life. Steve is anything but a “silver spoon” corporate aristocrat untouched by and unconcerned for the man or women trying to scratch out a decent living. Steve is and has always been an extremely principled and hardworking person with a deep personal commitment to inner city and minority concerns. He contributes large amounts of energy, time and personal resources in keeping with that commitment. The first time he was approached by the Administration I tried to encourage him to turn it down because I didn’t want him to be exposed to this sort exploitive and dishonest “stuff.” He didn’t have to make the decision that time. This time he was too excited about the possibilities of reviving the SBA and having an impact on the cities and the lives of the people who really make this nation work. I don’t pretend to understand what this job really entails but nobody will work harder or more conscientiously at it than Steve. So if you are more than a mouth for the opposition to Bush and your concern is more than pretense you will check it out for yourself.