Reps. Williams, Velazquez urge Biden to appoint chief counsel to key SBA office

The leaders of the House Committee on Small Business are urging President Joe Biden to nominate a chief counsel for advocacy at the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy.

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“The Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy is a critical watchdog fighting on behalf of our nation’s primary job creators. It is essential the vacant Chief Counsel for Advocacy role is filled to ensure small businesses are defended against burdensome regulations. I urge President Biden to nominate a qualified candidate to this post and hope he sees the necessity of this position,” U.S. Rep. Roger Williams (R-TX), chairman of the committee, said.

Williams and U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), ranking member of the committee, sent the request through a letter to Biden.

“The SBA Office of Advocacy serves as the independent voice of small businesses within the government, promoting the concerns of entrepreneurs before all three branches of the federal system,” Velázquez said. “I look forward to working with the Administration to fill the position of Chief Counsel, so the Office of Advocacy can represent small firms as effectively as possible.”

In the letter, the lawmakers said this role is too important to leave vacant.

“In many cases, the Office of Advocacy is the only government entity considering the impacts regulations may have on small business owners. The owners of America’s smallest businesses face significant challenges in understanding and complying with ever-changing federal regulations. Many of these small businesses do not have the resources to hire a dedicated staff to ensure compliance with these regulations. The Chief Counsel of Advocacy is uniquely positioned to inform agencies of these challenges,” the lawmakers wrote to Biden.