The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed President Bush's nomination of Hector V. Barreto Jr. as the 21st Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

A Hispanic businessman from Los Angeles, he has strong ties to national Hispanic business organizations.
Barreto, a securities broker-dealer and a vice chairman of the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, was a co-chairman of the Bush/Cheney 2000 campaign in California. He is founder of Barreto Insurance and Financial Services Inc. The firm specializes in creating comprehensive financial plans for both the business and private sectors.
"I am gratified that the Senate has approved my selection as administrator of the SBA," said Barreto, who was sworn in last week. "I will do my utmost to see that the SBA delivers the financing, technical and contracting assistance that America's 25 million small businesses need, in the most efficient and effective manner possible for both our customers and for American taxpayers."
Just how well Barreto will be able to live up to his promises remains to be seen. The Bush administration has proposed cutting the agency’s appropriation in the 2002 fiscal year by more than a third, to $542 million. Just before Barreto’s confirmation hearing, the U.S. House went against that request, passing a budget of $745 million for SBA, which is $203 million more than requested by the President.