It was created in 1996 as part of P.L. 104-121 , the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 (Title II, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 [SBREFA]). The Office of the National Ombudsman's primary purpose is to provide small businesses, small government entities (those serving populations of less than 50,000), and small nonprofit organizations that believe they have experienced unfair or excessive regulatory compliance or enforcement actions (such as repetitive audits or investigations, excessive fines, and retaliation by federal agencies) a means to comment about such actions. As an impartial liaison, the Office of the National Ombudsman "directs reported regulatory fairness matters to the appropriate agency for high-level fairness review, and works across government to address those concerns, reduce regulatory burdens, and help small businesses succeed." SBREFA also created a five-person Small Business Regulatory Fairness Board in each of the SBA's 10 regions to advise the National Ombudsman on matters related to federal regulatory enforcement activities affecting small businesses. Specifically, SBREFA directs the SBA Administrator to designate an ombudsman to
work with each federal agency with regulatory authority over small businesses to ensure that small businesses that receive or are subject to an audit, on-site inspection, compliance assistance effort, or other enforcement-related communication or contact by federal agency personnel are provided a means to comment on those regulatory compliance and enforcement activities; receive comments from small businesses regarding actions by federal agency employees conducting small business regulatory compliance or enforcement activities; refer comments to the affected federal agency's inspector general in appropriate circumstances and maintain the confidentiality of the person or small business making these comments; based on substantiated comments received from small businesses and Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards, annually report to Congress and affected federal agencies an evaluation of the federal agency's regulatory compliance and enforcement activities, including a rating of the agency's responsiveness to small businesses; provide the affected federal agency with an opportunity to comment on the National Ombudsman's annual report to Congress prior to publication and include in the final report a section in which the affected federal agency may comment on issues that are not addressed by the National Ombudsman in revisions to the draft; and coordinate and report annually on the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards' activities, findings, and recommendations to the SBA Administrator and the heads of affected federal agencies. This report examines the Office of the National Ombudsman's origin and history; describes its organizational structure, funding, functions, and current activities; and discusses a recent legislative effort to enhance its authority. During the 115 th Congress, S. 1146 , the Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 2017, would have, among other provisions, 
expanded the National Ombudsman's authority to work with federal agencies on the development of best practices for educating, training, and assisting small entities in understanding and complying with federal regulations; authorized the National Ombudsman to evaluate federal agency regulatory compliance guides, ensure that those guides are available to small business development centers and other SBA management and training resource partners, conduct small business customer service surveys on an ongoing basis to assess the timeliness and quality of federal agency regulatory activities, and develop an outreach program to promote awareness of the National Ombudsman's activities; and authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out these additional responsibilities. Frequent turnover can lead to continuity problems for the office. Third, the Office of the National Ombudsman does not have the authority to compel federal agencies to undertake specific actions to resolve disputes. As a result, although its annual rating of federal agency responsiveness to small business concerns does provide it a means to exert some influence on federal agency actions, its role in resolving disputes is somewhat constrained. Finally, the Office of the National Ombudsman's relatively limited budget and staffing level restricts its ability to engage in outreach activities that could increase small business awareness of its existence and services.
The Office of the National Ombudsman was created in 1996 as part of P.L. 104-121, the Contract with America Advancement Act of 1996 (Title II, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 [SBREFA]). Housed within the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), the office's primary purpose is to provide small businesses, small government entities (those serving populations of less than 50,000), and small nonprofit organizations that believe they have experienced unfair or excessive regulatory compliance or enforcement actions (such as repetitive audits or investigations, excessive fines, and retaliation by federal agencies) a means to comment about such actions.
The Office of the National Ombudsman is an impartial liaison that reports small business regulatory fairness matters to the appropriate federal agency for review and works across government to address those concerns and reduce regulatory burdens on small businesses.
SBREFA also created 10 Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards, one in each of the SBA's 10 regions, to advise the National Ombudsman on matters related to federal regulatory enforcement activities affecting small businesses.
Specifically, the National Ombudsman
works with each federal agency with regulatory authority over small businesses to ensure that small businesses are provided a means to comment on the federal agency's regulatory compliance and enforcement activities; receives comments from small businesses regarding actions by federal agency employees conducting small business regulatory compliance or enforcement activities; refers comments to the affected federal agency's inspector general in appropriate circumstances while maintaining the confidentiality of the person or small business making these comments; issues an annual report to Congress and affected federal agencies evaluating the agency's compliance and enforcement activities, including a rating of their responsiveness to small businesses; provides the affected federal agency with an opportunity to comment on the annual report prior to publication and includes in the report a section in which the affected federal agency may comment on issues that are not addressed by the National Ombudsman in revisions to the draft; and coordinates and reports annually on the Small Business Regulatory Fairness Boards' activities, findings, and recommendations to the SBA Administrator and the heads of affected federal agencies.
This report examines the Office of the National Ombudsman's origin and history; describes its organizational structure, funding, functions, and current activities; and discusses a recent legislative effort to enhance its authority. During the 115th Congress, S. 1146, the Small Business Regulatory Relief Act of 2017, would have, among other provisions,
expanded the National Ombudsman's authority to work with federal agencies on the development of best practices for educating, training, and assisting small entities in understanding and complying with federal regulations; and authorized the National Ombudsman to evaluate federal agency regulatory compliance guides, ensure that those guides are available to small business development centers and other SBA management and training resource partners, conduct small business customer service surveys on an ongoing basis to assess the timeliness and quality of federal agency regulatory activities, and develop an outreach program to promote awareness of the National Ombudsman's activities.
This report also discusses some challenges facing the Office of the National Ombudsman
although it is generally recognized as an independent, impartial office, it is housed within the much larger SBA and remains subject to its influence; the National Ombudsman has often stayed in the position for a relatively short time. Frequent turnover can lead to continuity problems for the office; it does not have the authority to compel federal agencies to undertake specific actions to resolve disputes. As a result, although its annual rating of federal agency responsiveness to small business concerns does provide it a means to exert some influence on federal agency actions, its role in resolving disputes is somewhat constrained; and its relatively limited budget and staffing level restrict its ability to engage in outreach activities that could increase small business awareness of its existence and services.