The
Office of the National Ombudsman of the Small Business Administration
(SBA) has asked all federal agencies to make clear that, if a small
entity requests Ombudsman assistance on a federal agency matter
or complains about a federal agency action, the agency will not
retaliate in response. In response to this request, this document
contains HUD's policy on non-retaliation against small entities.
HUD
is committed to maintaining an environment in which small entities,
and other participants in HUD programs or entities regulated by
HUD are free to raise questions or concerns, or complain about HUD
actions or policies. No HUD employee shall take any type of retaliatory
action against a small entity solely for raising questions, concerns,
or complaining about HUD actions or policies. The Director of HUD's
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) will
oversee the Department's compliance with this policy. OSDBU is available
to receive and respond to retaliation allegations by small entities.
OSDBU staff can be reached at (202) 708-1428. In addition, small
entities may comment about HUD's enforcement and compliance process
to the National Ombudsman's office. Information about the National
Ombudsman is available online at www.sba.gov/ombudsman.
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