Charles Heatherly Explained

Charles L. Heatherly
Office:15th Administrator of the Small Business Administration (Acting)
Status:Former
President:Ronald Reagan
Term Start:March 31, 1986
Term End:March 23, 1987
Predecessor:James C. Sanders
Successor:James Abdnor
Office1:Director of the President's Commission on White House Fellowships
Status1:Former
President1:Ronald Reagan
Term Start1:April 1, 1984[1]
Predecessor1:James C. Roberts
Successor1:Linda L. Tarr
Office2:Deputy Under Secretary for Management in the U.S. Department of Education
Status2:Former
President2:Ronald Reagan
Term Start2:September 3, 1982[2]
Predecessor2:Kent Lloyd
Successor2:Linda M. Combs[3]
Nickname:Angel of Death[4]
Birth Date:6 June 1942
Birth Place:Elizabethton, Tennessee, U.S.[5]
Party:Republican
Signature:Charles Heatherly Signature, cursive in ink.svg

Charles L. Heatherly (born June 6, 1942) is an American bureaucrat who was the acting administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA) from 1986 to 1987 following the resignation of James C. Sanders.[6]

Early life and education

Heatherly attended the University of Arizona, where he became involved in Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign. After graduating, Heatherly became an organizer for the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. In 1975, Heatherly received a master's degree from Claremont Graduate School and University Center.[7]

Career

The Heritage Foundation

Heatherly joined The Heritage Foundation, where, in 1981, he helped author and edit Mandate for Leadership,[8] which offered policy recommendations to the incoming Reagan administration. Subsequent versions of Mandate have since been published by the foundation.

Small Business Administration

Heatherly's tenure was characterized by his efforts in attempting to carry out the Reagan Administration's plan to merge the independent SBA into the U.S. Department of Commerce. The plan was ultimately dropped due to a lack of support from Congress[9] and intense criticism from the small business community. Heatherly conceded that the decision to merge the SBA with the Department of Commerce had "nothing to do with budget savings" and soon shifted his efforts to examining the effectiveness of the SBA's loan guarantee and educational programs.[10] [11]

Criticism

Heatherly's ascension as SBA administrator drew bipartisan ire from Senators Lowell Weicker (R-CT) and Dale Bumpers (D-AR), who both took issue with Heatherly's appointment, which was never considered by the Senate Small Business Committee.[12]

Senator Weicker sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) requesting that they examine a pamphlet published by the SBA at Heatherly's direction, titled The Future of SBA. While the GAO determined that the pamphlet did not violate the law, the office stated that they had "serious difficulties" with the SBA's distribution of its accompanying "suggested editorials" supporting the Reagan administration's reorganization plan for the SBA. The GAO stated that the suggested editorials were "misleading as to their origin and reasonably constitute[d] 'propaganda...'"[13]

Following pressure from small business delegates to the 1986 White House Conference on Small Business, President Ronald Reagan announced that Heatherly would be replaced as the SBA's acting head.[14]

Return to Heritage Foundation

Following his ouster from the SBA, Heatherly returned to the Heritage Foundation as the organization's vice president for academic relations.[15]

Published works

Books

Notes and References

  1. News: Federal File . Education Week . 11 April 1984 . 18 December 2023.
  2. Web site: Nomination of Charles L. Heatherly To Be a Deputy Under Secretary of Education. The American Presidency Project . 18 December 2023.
  3. Web site: Nominations, September 5, 1984. Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum . 18 December 2023.
  4. Bean . Jonathan . Big Government and Affirmative Action: The Scandalous History of the Small Business Administration . American Politics . 2001 . 36 . 137 . 20 December 2023.
  5. Web site: Charles Heatherly . Conservative Book Club . 29 March 2023.
  6. TIME USA, LLC (1986, April 28). Government: Changing Small to Not At All. TIME. Retrieved September 14, 2023, from https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,961270,00.html
  7. News: Havemann . Judith . PLAYERS . 29 March 2023 . Washington Post . April 21, 1986.
  8. Book: Heatherly . Charles L. . Mandate for Leadership: Policy Management in a Conservative Administration . 1981 . Heritage Foundation . 6876978 . 29 March 2023.
  9. Web site: SBA Lives but Must Refocus, Its Chief Says . . 14 November 1986 .
  10. News: Campaign to Kill S.b.a. Is Scrapped . The New York Times . 28 August 1986 . Nash . Nathaniel C. .
  11. News: Hoffman . David . Reagan Seeks to Cut Pay, Abolish SBA, Curb Benefits . 29 March 2023 . Washington Post . December 6, 1984.
  12. News: Havemann . Judith . PLAYERS . 29 March 2023 . Washington Post . April 21, 1986.
  13. Web site: B-223098, B-223098.2 October 10, 1986 . U.S. Government Accountability Office . 29 March 2023.
  14. Web site: Heatherly Ouster Cheers Small-Business Delegates . . 18 August 1986 .
  15. Web site: Charles Heatherly . C-Span . 29 March 2023.