Last week, President Barack Obama announced a recess appointment to head the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy. The nomination of Dr. Winslow Sargeant in May of 2009 has been on hold since that time despite having been favorably reported (13-6) by the committee of jurisdiction, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Sargeant is a former small business owner, having started his own semiconductor chip company in 1997, and served as a program manager for the Small Business Innovations Research (SBIR) Program at the National Science Foundation. He has received the endorsement of past chief counsels for Advocacy, including Jere Glover, who served during the administration of President Bill Clinton, and Tom Sullivan, who served during the administration of President George W. Bush.

Sargeant’s nomination was held up due to concerns that he is not an attorney. While regulatory review and analysis is a critical component of the responsibilities of the Office of Advocacy, NSBA supported Sargeant’s nomination, confident that he brought other important skills to the position and Advocacy’s team of attorneys could provide the necessary legal expertise.

While preferring that his nomination had been acted on through the traditional approval process, NSBA welcomes Dr. Sargeant as chief counsel, and looks forward to working with him in the future.