- (FORTUNE Small Business) – Controversy over the Small Business Administration's lethargic response to the autumn hurricanes ("Small Bungling Administration," Startup, November) continues to swirl. Senator Olympia Snowe (R - Maine) and Representative Nydia Velezquez (D - New York) demanded a General Accounting Office investigation of the SBA's disaster-loan program after they obtained an internal memo in which the agency predicted only a 20 percent loan-approval rate for companies affected by storms. (The GAO says it will publish a preliminary report in February as part of its overall review of the government's response.)

And to speed things up -- as of November 1, the SBA had granted only 307 loans to small businesses hit by Katrina --Representative Bobby Jindal (R-Louisiana) is drafting legislation asking the SBA to guarantee bank loans and leave direct lending to private banks. That would take heat off SBA workers: According to a recent survey, just 41% of them recommended the SBA as a good place to work -- the lowest ranking among federal departments.