1: Advocacy

To encourage policies that support the development and growth of American small businesses.

Other Information:

Advocacy works to reduce the burdens that federal regulations and other policies impose on small entities and provides vital small business research for the use of policymakers and other stakeholders. Advocacy represents the interests of small businesses within the federal government. The office advances the views and concerns of small businesses before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, the federal courts, and state and local policymakers as appropriate. Economic research, policy analyses, and small business outreach help identify issues of concerns. Documenting the contributions of and challenges for small businesses in the U.S. economy provides policymakers with the information that they need to make better decisions.

Stakeholder(s):

• Small Businesses
  •  (Beneficiary)


• Office of Advocacy: The Office of Advocacy is an independent office within the U.S. Small Business Administration. Advocacy has its own statutory charter, Title II of Public Law 94-305 as amended (15 U.S.C. §634a et seq.), originally enacted in 1976. The office is headed by a Chief Counsel for Advocacy, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Public Law 111-240 further amended the Office of Advocacy's statutory authority to establish a separate appropriations account which became effective in Fiscal Year 2012.
  • Advocacy (Performer): The mission of the Office of Advocacy is to encourage policies that support the development and growth of American small businesses.
  • Compliance Monitoring (Performer): In addition to those responsibilities included in Advocacy's basic charter, further duties and powers were conferred upon the Chief Counsel for Advocacy by the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) of 1980 as amended (5 U.S.C. §601 et seq.), and Executive Order 13272. These duties include the monitoring of federal agency compliance with the RFA, providing RFA compliance training to regulatory officials, and assisting regulatory agencies during all stages of the rule development process to mitigate the potential impact of rules on small entities while still achieving their regulatory objectives.

Objective(s):

1: Businesses & Jobs

2: Small Business Needs

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