Trump budget would cut Small Business Administration funding

NEW YORK — The Trump administration’s budget proposal for the next fiscal year would cut Small Business Administration funding by 5 percent, eliminating some Obama administration programs aimed at creating jobs.

The proposed SBA budget would total $826.5 million, the smallest of any Cabinetlevel agency and $43.2 million less than it was allocated for the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.

Budget cuts were aimed at programs that are redundant and whose services would be better provided by the private sector, according to the budget message issued by the Office of Management and Budget.

Among the programs being eliminated are Regional Innovation Clusters, 14 networks of companies aimed at supporting small businesses in specific industries; the Program for Investment in Micro-Entrepreneur grants and the Growth Accelerator Fund, which sponsors a competition for organizations that foster startups. Eliminating these programs would save $12 million, the administration said.

“The private sector provides effective mechanisms to foster local business development and growth,” the budget message said.

The Regional Innovation Clusters and Growth Accelerator Fund were launched under the Obama administration, which said they were aimed at getting small businesses to hire more workers.

The proposed budget also eliminates the Minority Business Development Agency, a unit of the Commerce Department that promotes the growth of minority-owned businesses. The MBDA duplicates SBA programs aimed at supporting minority-owned businesses including Small Business Development Centers located across the country, the budget message said.