May 14, 2009 (Washington, DC)- Small business advocates today rallied in defense of a long-time champion, whom they believe has unfairly come under fire for doing her job. The Institute for Liberty, a Washington, DC-based advocacy organization focused on small business and entrepreneurship, voiced its support for Shawne McGibbon, Acting Chief Counsel for Advocacy at the Small Business Administration. Ms. McGibbon has become the target of intense scrutiny after her Office raised concerns with EPA's controversial "Endangerment Finding" for carbon dioxide were released by the Office of Management and Budget.

The Office of Advocacy, which Ms. McGibbon has been heading in an Acting capacity for several months, is statutorily charged with reviewing regulatory proposals from the rest of the federal government and assessing them for their impacts on small business. Advocacy's comments on EPA's Endangerment Finding were normal business practice, and nothing out of the ordinary.

"We're stunned that the White House would allow a career civil servant to be treated so shabbily," said Andrew Langer, IFL's President. "Shawne McGibbon has given the executive branch years of good service, and she has been an essential voice in the defense of small business. If implemented, EPA's regulation of CO2 could have sweeping repercussions for the American economy, especially small businesses and the working families that depend on them. If Advocacy's research and analysis demonstrates that such a finding would have a detrimental impact on small business, then they were legally and ethically obligated to report to OMB on that fact."

Like many offices within the federal government, Advocacy is staffed by career civil servants who are generally managed by political appointees. In fact, Ms. McGibbon and 20 of the 36 staffers in Washington's Office of Advocacy were hired by Jere Glover, who was appointed Chief Counsel by President Clinton.

"The mission of Advocacy is not a political one," said Thomas Sullivan, IFL's Senior Fellow in Regulatory Affairs. He served as Chief Counsel for Advocacy from 2002 through 2008 and directly preceded Ms. McGibbon. "Advocacy's role is to defend small business from the expansion of the trillion dollar regulatory state. Regulations can produce benefits. And, they can produce costs. Small business is responsible for between 60-80 percent of the net new jobs. And, the ability of entrepreneurs to innovate and create jobs has pulled out country out of recessions in the past. Now is the time to pay MORE attention to how government mandates impact entrepreneurs."

Research shows that small business is disproportionately impacted by federal regulations. Whether it is complying with building codes or complying with the tax code, small firms spend over $7,500 per employee per year on regulatory compliance costs. This is 45 percent more than their larger business counterparts spend because Fortune 500 firms have entire departments and divisions that figure out. Thus, IFL believes, the public deserves a full understanding of how proposed government policies will impact small business.

"President Obama campaigned on the insistence that his White House would operate in a new era of transparency," Langer concluded. "The Office of Advocacy should serve as a model for the President. SBA's Office of Advocacy has operated in a completely transparent mode for 35 years. OMB should be embarrassed by dismissing the cost of pending climate change regulation on small business simply because they (falsely) believe the information comes from a "Bush holdover."