We really accomplished what we set out to do with the Recovery Act programs, which was to fill the lending gap created by the crisis.

- Karen Mills

We have to keep the momentum going in the economy. And we have to make sure that we give small businesses as much cash and liquidity as possible so they have the confidence to hire that next worker.

- Karen Mills

Health care is the No. 1 concern of small businesses and the status quo is untenable.

- Karen Mills

I saw the S.B.A. with just enormous potential, and that's what I told the president - this is really a jewel.

- Karen Mills

If you want to have prosperity here, we really have to see our small businesses able to grow and compete around the world.

- Karen Mills

In October 2008, when the credit crunch hit, small businesses were really crushed by the lack of capital.

- Karen Mills

President Obama vowed in his State of the Union address to make assisting domestic manufacturers a top priority for his second term.

- Karen Mills

Small businesses are really the engine in the economy.

- Karen Mills

Small businesses have told us that having cash in their pocket is one of the primary things that they need.

- Karen Mills

The morale when I came in was not the best. It was because the agency had not been valued.

- Karen Mills

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

We spend a great deal of our energy making sure that small businesses have help in navigating to the outcomes that they want.

- Karen Mills

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

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

As I've traveled around the country, it has surprised me how many times I've heard people in small businesses use that word 'saved.' I believe many small businesses would not have had access to credit and would not have survived without the $50 billion that we were able to put into the market.

- Karen Mills

Small businesses pay 18 percent more than big businesses for health care, the same health care, just because they're small and they have too small a pool of risk.

- Karen Mills

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

The S.B.A. does not lend directly to businesses, but instead backs loans to encourage banks to invest in small businesses as part of a nearly $90 billion portfolio.

- Karen Mills

This is not a zero-sum game. We know that if we provide access and education, particularly where there are gaps in the market, we will create more jobs, we will create more growth, and we will create more activity in the U.S. market, which will be good for our economy.

- Karen Mills

We were able in the Recovery Act to get a program where we increased our loan guarantees to 90 percent. Because we had that program, a bank wouldn't have to take that much risk.

- Karen Mills