Walk This WayWith more funding, SBDCs can lead you in the right direction.

Small businesses may soon have access to a new translationservice--not for when they need to pore over foreign languageimport rules, but rather to get help from Small BusinessDevelopment Centers on deciphering the mumbo-jumbo that oftencharacterizes small-business regulations. Rep. John Sweeney's(R-NY) National Small Business Regulatory Assistance Act of 2005(H.R. 230) has passed both the House and Senate in previousCongresses; 2005 may be the year it lands on President Bush'sdesk for signing.

There are now 63 Lead SBDCs--one or more in each state, theDistrict of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Samoa and the U.S. VirginIslands-with a network of more than 1,100 service subcenters. TheSBA provides 50 percent or less of the operating funds for eachstate SBDC.