Karen Mills Quotes

United States, Public Servant
September 14, 1953

Karen Gordon Mills (born September 14, 1953) served as the 23rd Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). She was nominated by President-elect Barack Obama on December 19, 2008, confirmed unanimously by the Senate on April 2, 2009, and sworn in on April 6, 2009. During her tenure, her office was elevated to the rank of Cabinet-level officer, expanding her power on policy decisions and granting her inclusion in the President's cabinet meetings. On February 11, 2013, she announced her resignation as Administrator and left the post on September 1, 2013.

As you probably know, half of the people who work in this country work for small businesses. And it's more than that, because two out of every three net new jobs come from small business. So we mean it when we talk about small business being the engine for the economy.

Karen Mills
- People
- Work
- Country
We are not going to be the agency where large businesses can masquerade as a small business and get a contract. We are closing down on fraud, waste and abuse.

Karen Mills
- Business
- Small
- Down

After four years as Administrator of the SBA, I have let President Obama know that I will not be staying for a second term. I will stay on until my successor is confirmed to ensure a smooth and seamless transition.

Karen Mills
- Know
- Years
- Transition
In October 2008, when the credit crunch hit, small businesses were really crushed by the lack of capital.

Karen Mills
- Small
- Credit
- October
The 2009 stimulus law got the ball rolling, allowing the agency to reduce and eliminate fees and raise loan guarantees to 90 percent of the total. I knew that we had the opportunity to use S.B.A. products to fill that gap in a rapid manner, as we ended up doing in the Recovery Act.

Karen Mills
- Up
- Opportunity
- Law
The morale when I came in was not the best. It was because the agency had not been valued.

Karen Mills
- Best
- Agency
- Morale
My family was in two businesses - they were in the textile business, and they were in the candy business. The conversations around the dinner table were all about the factory floor and how many machines were running and what was happening in the business. I grew up very engaged in manufacturing and as part of a family business.

Karen Mills
- Up
- Family
- Business
Small businesses, you can give them capital, but what they often need as much is mentoring, advice and help with their business plan.

Karen Mills
- Business
- Help
- Small

We are very much engaged across the government, very much engaged in streamlining and simplifying our activities with borrowers and lenders, because that saves time and saves costs and we believe we can do that while maintaining the same or increased levels of oversight and risk management.

Karen Mills
- Time
- Believe
- Government
This has always been a small agency with a big mission. But these days, especially, we have to stand up every day, deliver value into the hands of small-business owners and get taxpayers the biggest bang for their buck so that we can help these job creators do what they need to do.

Karen Mills
- Up
- Business
- Job
Among our responsibilities is to make sure that 23 percent of all government contracts go to small businesses. That's about $150 billion annually, from all the government agencies.

Karen Mills
- Small
- Government
- Percent
I haven't checked this out yet, but one of our guys told me we have a counselor within 45 minutes to an hour of most small businesses in this country. That's really powerful. I call it our bone structure.

Karen Mills
- Country
- Small
- Me
We've gotten tremendous support. Everybody now understands how critical it is to help small businesses get out of this recession and into recovery.

Karen Mills
- Help
- Small
- Support