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Highlights from the President's FY 2018 Budget Request: Small Business Administration
Unless otherwise noted, all figures are from the department’s budget justification.
The administration’s FY 2018 budget would eliminate several programs providing support to entrepreneurs and small businesses, including FAST, a grant program that targets improved participation in SBIR/STTR, particularly for women and minorities, and the Regional Innovation Clusters and Growth Accelerators programs. SBA’s Entrepreneurial Development Programs would be cut by $52.6 million to $192.5 million (21.5 percent decrease), while Business Loan Programs would hold nearly steady at $156.2 million ($1.5 million, 1.0 percent decrease).
Among the cuts to Entrepreneurial Development Programs are several initiatives specifically targeting innovation- and technology-focused entrepreneurship, as depicted in the following table.
|
SBA Entrepreneurial Development Programs |
FY 2018 Proposal ($ millions) |
Change from FY 2017 ($ millions) |
Change from FY 2017 (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regional Innovation Clusters |
0.0 |
-5.0 |
-100% |
|
Growth Accelerators |
0.0 |
-1.0 |
-100% |
|
Entrepreneurship Education |
2.0 |
-8.0 |
-80.0% |
|
PRIME Technical Assistance |
0.0 |
-5.0 |
-100% |
|
SCORE |
9.9 |
-0.6 |
-5.7% |
|
SBDC |
110.0 |
-15.0 |
-12.0% |
|
Veterans Outreach |
11.3 |
-1.0 |
-8.1% |
|
Women's Business Centers |
16.0 |
-2.0 |
-11.1% |
|
Total |
192.5 |
-52.6 |
-21.5% |
Regional Innovation Clusters is a program that has demonstrated impact in its tenure. From an FY 2016 study of companies participating in the 14 SBA-funded regional clusters, 49 percent of participants achieved a patent or licensing success and 59 percent experienced revenue growth (study cited in the SBA’s FY 2018 Congressional Budget Justification).
SBA would also be expected to evaluate the SBIC program (at a cost of $500,000) and has pledged to push for reauthorization of SBIR/STTR during FY 2017.
federal budget, fy18 budget, FAST