Reagan Names Abdnor as New Head of SBA

James Abdnor, the South Dakota Republican who lost his Senate seat in the November election, was picked Tuesday as chief of the Small Business Administration and immediately pledged to restore confidence and morale at the embattled agency.

Abdnor, 63, lost to Democratic Rep. Thomas Daschle in the election. He has served in the Senate for one term. Before that, he had been in the house since 1973.

He has been chairman of the water resources subcommittee of the Senate as well as the Appropriations subcommittee on the Treasury, Postal Service and general government. The SBA position has been vacant since March 1, when James Sanders resigned to accept a position with the brewing industry. Charles L. Heatherly, his deputy, has been serving as acting director.

Abdnor also served as vice chairman of the Joint Economic Committee while in the Senate. Before his election to Congress, he was lieutenant governor of South Dakota and a member of the South Dakota state senate.

President Reagan announced Abdnor’s selection in a speech as he received a report from the White House Conference on Small Business. Stymied by Congress in his attempts to abolish the SBA, Reagan said that “a lean and mean SBA will continue to play a role in our Administration, even in these times of budget restraint.”

He said Abdnor “knows small business and knows the nation’s capital. . . . Together we are going to assure that small business will have a strong voice in the nation’s capital.”

Failing in his move to eliminate the SBA, Reagan moved to place it under the jurisdiction of the Commerce Department. That also was blocked by Congress.

“Now, they’ve assured me it’s going to remain as is, an independent agency,” Abdnor said in an interview. “I want to restore confidence back in it and boost the morale of the people.”

With 4,000 employees, the SBA makes loans to help new small businesses get off the ground and to help pay for reconstruction costs after floods and other natural disasters. It has written more than 350,000 loans since it was created in 1953.

Abdnor said the SBA post should not be viewed as a political reward.

“This is not just something to make Jim Abdnor a retirement home,” he said. “I’m going to be measured by my success in this.”

Abdnor aide Mike Freeman said Abdnor had consistently voted to support the SBA and had opposed Administration proposals to cut its budget.