Washington D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing examining the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) actions to combat fraud in agency programs and how Congress can support these efforts. During the hearing, Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) discussed the importance of providing the SBA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) with the resources needed to fight fraud a... Read More »
Washington D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing examining National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rule changes allowing college athletes to profit off their own names, images, and likenesses (NIL). During the hearing, Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) highlighted how these changes could increase gender inequity and predatory agent practices in college sport... Read More »
Washington D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee passed five bipartisan bills to protect small firms from anti-competitive behavior, bolster assistance for rural small businesses, and improve oversight of Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs. “These five bipartisan bills will boost SBA initiatives to better assist small businesses, as well as conduct rigorous oversight of vi... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— On July 19, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee issued a decision in Ultima Servs. Corp. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture, enjoining the Small Business Administration (SBA) from using the rebuttable presumption of social disadvantage in the 8(a) program. The SBA has implemented a new process for current and future 8(a) program participants to comp... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, issued the following statement after the Labor Department released its August jobs report showing that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000: “Today, the Labor Department reported that our economy created another 187,000 jobs in August, bringing the total new jobs added under th... Read More »
Washington, D.C.— Today, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Small Business Committee, issued the following statement after the Labor Department released its July jobs report showing that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 187,000: “Today, the Labor Department reported that our economy created another 187,000 jobs in July, bringing the total new jobs added under the Bi... Read More »
Thank you for holding this mark-up today. I am committed to working in a bipartisan manner to enact legislation that assists small businesses, as well as conduct rigorous oversight of SBA’s programs. The past three years have been extremely challenging for small businesses. SBA provided more than $1.2 trillion in pandemic relief, which enabled small businesses to navigate the pandemic and stay afl... Read More »
We are here today to discuss your White Paper on the SBA’s COVID-19 Pandemic landscape, and also review SBA’s recently issued report on “Protecting the Integrity of the Pandemic Relief Programs.” First, let me thank you and the federal employees who work for the Office of the Inspector General. The past three years have been extremely challenging for the SBA and your office as well. The agency exe... Read More »
Thank you, Chairman Williams, and welcome back to the Committee Mr. Clark. I want to take a moment to thank you for your service. I know that you have been the acting chief counsel at Advocacy for more than six years, and your dedication is commendable. The position of chief counsel is an important role. The Office of Advocacy serves as the independent voice of small businesses within the federal ... Read More »
Washington, D.C. –Today, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing examining the challenges facing the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy (Advocacy). During the hearing, Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) focused on what Congress can do to minimize the impact of regulations on small businesses while also protecting common-sense regulations that provide critical ... Read More »
Washington D.C.— Today, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Veteran Entrepreneurship Training Act of 2023. The bill authorizes the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) “Boots to Business” program, which provides entrepreneurship training to military service members, spouses, and veterans, for five years. “Starting a business is not for the faint of heart. It takes courage, perseverance... Read More »
The effect of inflation on small businesses is no secret – it can dig into margins and contribute to tighter monetary conditions, limiting access to capital and the ability to grow and expand. However, inflation is not a single-threaded issue; it’s a complex dynamic of global events. The COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, monopolistic price-gouging, and geopolitical tens... Read More »
American innovation is key to our country’s success as a global economic powerhouse. Our standing in the world is built on our collective investments in new ideas, cutting-edge technology, and competition between and talent among our country’s best and brightest. American entrepreneurs play a crucial role in the innovation ecosystem by attracting investment to bring ideas in university labs to mar... Read More »
Washington D.C.— Today, House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) issued the following statement in response to Republican brinksmanship around raising the debt ceiling: “Under the Biden Administration, American small businesses have experienced a remarkable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the President took office, entrepreneurs have filed a record 10.5 mi... Read More »
Washington D.C.— Today, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing examining the challenges facing veteran entrepreneurs and the state of federal programs designed to support them. During the hearing, Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) focused on ways that Congress can bolster access to capital and entrepreneurial development resources available to the 200,000 servicemembers that tran... Read More »
