41 Quotes by Karen Mills

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

Small businesses are really the engine in the economy.

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.

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

One of the most important things we hear is the S.B.A. needs to be ubiquitous. We do all these things, but people still don't know.

I think we've learned that the S.B.A. plays a critical role in providing access and opportunity when the market is not providing that access. We help banks get that money out into the hands of important and viable businesses, particularly those owned by minorities, women, immigrants and veterans.

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

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.

We've gotten tremendous support. Everybody now understands how critical it is to help small businesses get out of this recession and into recovery.