Small Business Administration

1953 409 3rd St. SW, Washington, DC 20416 202-205-6740 $899.5 million 4,218 The SBA provides financial, technical, and management assistance to small businesses. It also provides aid in securing government contracts, disaster relief, training and advocacy. Administrator (designate) 202-205-6605 Hector Barreto first appeared on the national stage touting George W. Bush's vision for small businesses in a speech at the 2000 Republican National Convention. Now he will have a chance to implement that vision as head of the Small Business Administration. "George W. Bush is the best hope for America's 24 million small businesses," Barreto told the convention delegates. "He will break the iron grip of litigation, taxation, and regulation to help mom-and-pop stores, manufacturers, high-tech start-ups, and family farms." He said that Bush, whom he referred to as his "amigo," turned Texas into an "entrepreneurial heaven" during his governorship. Barreto, 39, first learned about the needs of small businesses from his father, an immigrant from Mexico who founded the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and who advised Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush. The younger Barreto grew up in Kansas City, Mo. After attending Rockhurst University there, he worked for Miller Brewing Co. in South Texas before starting Barreto Insurance and Financial Services in Los Angeles. As SBA administrator, Barreto will oversee an agency with 3,100 employees, nearly 70 offices around the country, and a budget of $899.5 million. The SBA, which was founded in 1953, tries to help entrepreneurs form successful small businesses by offering counseling, technical support, and loan guarantees. In addition to speaking at the GOP convention, Barreto was the co-chair of the Bush campaign in California. He is on the board of directors of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and was recognized by Hispanic Business magazine as one of the "100 Most Influential U.S. Hispanics" in 1999. decision makers