The Senate has approved President Bush’s nomination of Thomas M. Sullivan as Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration (SBA). The Office of Advocacy is an independent office within SBA that is dedicated to advancing the views, concerns, and interests of small businesses. Before his appointment, Sullivan served as the Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Legal Foundation.
As Chief Counsel for Advocacy, one of Sullivan’s primary responsibilities will be to ensure that small businesses are adequately represented in the rulemaking process, particularly by ensuring that federal agencies undertake proper analyses of the effect of regulations on small businesses under the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA). “This is an opportunity that comes along once in a lifetime,” Sullivan said. “I plan to build on the good work already done by Advocacy, and run a proactive office that will advance the interests of all small businesses.”
ILMA has worked closely with the Office of Advocacy in the past, and Sullivan’s credentials make him uniquely suited for this position. In addition to his work with NFIB, he has served in the Administrator’s Office of the Environmental Protection Agency and in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
