Small Business Administration facing significant staffing cuts INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – An advocacy group warns at least one effort to reduce the size of government may increase waste, fraud, and abuse.  March 21, the Trump administration announced plans to cut 2,700 jobs from the Small Busin ess Administration (SBA), accounting for 43% of its workforce.  The American Small Business League (ASBL), a watchdog group which advocates for small businesses to receive federal contracts, worries the layoffs are a first step to dismantling the SBA.  ASBL Communications Director Bruce de Torres told News 8 he believes special interests want to close the SBA “to bury and diminish the contracting program” it oversees that requires 23% of federal contracts go to small businesses. “The SBA has been demonized,” de Torres said.  He fears that without the SBA federal contracts currently going to small businesses could be overtaken by large corporations.  Announcing the staff reductions, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said it was “eliminating non-mission-critical positions”. “We will return our focus to driving private sector growth and delivering disaster relief with accountability, efficiency, and results,” Loeffler said.  That doesn’t add up to de Torres. Pointing to the SBA taking over student loan debt from the Department of Education, which the Trump administration is openly attempting to dismantle, de Torres said he sees the new responsibilities for the SBA combined with a reduction to its staff is “setting it up to fail.”  The SBA claims its reorganization plan will save taxpayers more than $435 million annually by fiscal year 2026. ...read more read less