Michael Roth: SBA Senior Advisor in Early 2021

Pandemic-program role: Senior Advisor to the SBA Administrator in early 2021, during the Paycheck Protection Program's last round.
Institution · office: SBA · Office of the Administrator (Senior Advisor to the Administrator) · Type: political (Biden-Harris transition appointee)
Tenure (relief-relevant): ~mid-January – late March 2021 (~10 weeks).

Michael Roth was the Small Business Administration's senior advisor at the start of the Biden administration, from mid-January 2021, as the Paycheck Protection Program ran its last round.¹ Inc. wrote that until Isabella Casillas Guzman was sworn in as administrator in late March, "Roth actually helmed the agency"; the New Jersey Globe called him SBA's "interim leader."²³ From January 20 to March 17, 2021, while Tami Perriello was acting administrator and signed SBA's rules, SBA approved 2.67 million PPP loans worth $177 billion.⁴ In his campaign for New Jersey's 7th congressional district, Roth said he "Led the U.S. Small Business Administration through the Pandemic, delivering $1 trillion in funding nationwide."⁵

Record at SBA

On February 10, 2021, SBA announced 1.3 million loans worth $104 billion in the new round, 82 percent of them for less than $100,000, and quoted Roth: "We are pleased that the Paycheck Protection Program is targeting the smallest of small businesses".¹ Twelve days later SBA set a two-week window for businesses with fewer than 20 employees, announced by the White House.⁶ In March SBA let self-employed borrowers base loans on gross income, which allowed larger loans.⁷ By the time PPP closed in June 2021, GAO found, lending in underserved counties matched their share of small businesses, while lending to businesses with fewer than 10 employees "remained disproportionately low."⁸

Roth told Inc. in May 2021 that SBA had "very little engagement" with community groups when he arrived, and that the Vice President called the heads of JPMorgan Chase, Truist and Bank of America to push outreach.²

PPP approved $797 billion over its life, by SBA's loan file; $526 billion of that was approved in 2020, before Roth arrived.⁹

The job (role mechanics)

Level / appointment: Political appointee (Biden-Harris transition; non-career) — "Senior Advisor to the Administrator." Not Senate-confirmed and never the Administrator.
Reports to: The (Acting) Administrator, Tami Perriello; the Office of the Administrator.
Core responsibility: SBA's quoted voice on PPP operations during the early-2021 transition (the Feb. 10, 2021 processing fixes; the Mar. 11, 2021 American Rescue Plan statement). No signing authority (the instruments were signed by Acting Administrator Perriello and, at the very end, James Rivera).
Pay: We have no first-party salary or grade record for this role.
Expectations / mandate: Advise the Acting Administrator and speak for the agency on PPP operations.
Tenure norm: Serves at the pleasure of the President/Administrator (political; a short transition appointment). His actual service: ~mid-January – late March 2021 (~10 weeks), ending at Guzman's swearing-in.

Education

B.A., Lehigh University; M.B.A., the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. (Per the New Jersey Globe profile and his campaign bio.)

Career before the pandemic

Executive at Next Street (a small-business advisory/community-investment firm) and related community-investment roles, before joining the Biden-Harris transition.

Documents written or signed

None requiring the Administrator's signature. The legal instruments of this period were signed by Perriello (and, at the very end of the transition, James Rivera).

Career after / where they are now

Returned to Next Street after the transition, then ran for Congress in New Jersey's 7th congressional district.

Documents on this site

Original source documents and archived copies

Sources (first-party)

SBA, "SBA, Lenders Take More Steps to Improve the Paycheck Protection Program," Feb. 10, 2021 (quotes "SBA Senior Advisor to the Administrator Michael Roth") — SBA, "SBA, Lenders Take More Steps to Improve the Paycheck Protection Program," Feb. 10, 2021 quotes "SBA Senior Advi... (original: sba.gov · stored capture)
SBA, "American Rescue Plan Act Elevates Small Business Support…," Mar. 11, 2021 ("Statement from SBA Senior Advisor Michael Roth") — SBA, "American Rescue Plan Act Elevates Small Business Support…," Mar. 11, 2021 "Statement from SBA Senior Advisor Mi... (original: sba.gov · stored capture)
New Jersey Globe, "Michael Roth, ex-Small Business Administration leader, makes NJ-7 campaign official" (background; "interim leader of the Small Business Administration") — New Jersey Globe, "Michael Roth, ex-Small Business Administration leader, makes NJ-7 campaign official" background; "... (original: newjerseyglobe.com · stored capture)
Campaign bio (self-description) — Campaign bio self-description — (original: michaelrothforcongress.com · stored capture) (link now dead; copy taken from the Internet Archive, 1 June 2026)
Diana Ransom, "The PPP Is Out of Cash. 3 Ways It Could Improve in the Next Crisis," Inc., May 7, 2021.
"Tami Perriello," Wikipedia (acting administrator Jan. 20 to Mar. 17, 2021).
GAO-21-601, "Paycheck Protection Program: Program Changes Increased Lending to the Smallest Businesses and in Underserved Locations," September 2021.
White House fact sheet, "Biden-Harris Administration Increases Lending to Small Businesses in Need, Announces Changes to PPP to Further Promote Equitable Access to Relief," Feb. 22, 2021.
Federal Register, 86 FR 13149 (FR Doc. 2021-04795), "Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program-Revisions to Loan Amount Calculation and Eligibility," Mar. 8, 2021.
SBA, "PPP Report: Approvals through 05/31/2021".
SBA PPP loan-level data (FOIA), September 30, 2024 release.

Notes

SBA, "SBA, Lenders Take More Steps to Improve the Paycheck Protection Program," Feb. 10, 2021. ↩
Diana Ransom, "The PPP Is Out of Cash. 3 Ways It Could Improve in the Next Crisis," Inc., May 7, 2021. ↩
New Jersey Globe, "Michael Roth, ex-Small Business Administration leader, makes NJ-7 campaign official". ↩
SBA's 2024 loan file: 2,669,038 loans, $177.15 billion. Perriello's term as acting administrator ended March 17, 2021; Inc. put Guzman's swearing-in in late March. SBA PPP loan-level data (FOIA), September 30, 2024 release; "Tami Perriello," Wikipedia (acting administrator Jan. 20 to Mar. 17, 2021); Diana Ransom, "The PPP Is Out of Cash. 3 Ways It Could Improve in the Next Crisis," Inc., May 7, 2021. ↩
Michael Roth for Congress, campaign bio ("About"). ↩
White House fact sheet, February 22, 2021: White House fact sheet, "Biden-Harris Administration Increases Lending to Small Businesses in Need, Announces Changes to PPP to Further Promote Equitable Access to Relief," Feb. 22, 2021. GAO dates SBA's guidance February 22, 2021: GAO-21-601, "Paycheck Protection Program: Program Changes Increased Lending to the Smallest Businesses and in Underserved Locations," September 2021. ↩
The rule was signed by Perriello and published March 8, 2021: Federal Register, 86 FR 13149 (FR Doc. 2021-04795), "Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program-Revisions to Loan Amount Calculation and Eligibility," Mar. 8, 2021. ↩
GAO-21-601, "Paycheck Protection Program: Program Changes Increased Lending to the Smallest Businesses and in Underserved Locations," September 2021. ↩
SBA's 2024 loan file gives $796.8 billion over the program's life and $525.8 billion for 2020; SBA's May 2021 report gives $799.8 billion over the program's life and implies $522.1 billion for 2020. SBA PPP loan-level data (FOIA), September 30, 2024 release; SBA, "PPP Report: Approvals through 05/31/2021". ↩