U.S. effort affects small businesses

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently issued an interim final rule that will adjust monetary-based small business size standards for inflation to allow more small businesses to become eligible for the SBA’s loan and contracting programs.

The SBA is adjusting its industry-specific monetary-based size standards by nearly 8.4% to reflect the inflation that has occurred since the last adjustment for inflation in 2014. This time, the SBA is also adjusting the revenues-based size standards for agricultural industries, which were previously set by statute.

These adjusted size standards will become effective on Aug. 19 and will be reviewed again as part of the second five-year review of size standards mandated by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, a news release stated.

Additionally, the SBA is adjusting program-specific monetary-based size standards by the same amount for sales or leases of government property and stockpile purchases.

Comments can be submitted by Sept. 16, 2019, at www.regulations.gov, identified with the following RIN number: RIN 3245-AH17. Interested parties may also mail comments to Khem R. Sharma, Chief, Office of Size Standards, 409 Third St. SW, Mail Code 6530, Washington, D.C., 20416.