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.