news

Chairwoman of Small Business Committee Releases Report Detailing Shutdown’s Consequences for Small Firms

As the Trump Shutdown continues into its third week, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), the Chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee has released a report showing the severe losses that America’s entrepreneurs are being forced to endure due to a lack of funding for the Small Business Administration (SBA).

“By refusing to work with Democrats to keep the government open, President Trump is carrying out a stunt that puts politics ahead of America’s hardworking small business sector,” said Velázquez. “Every day the White House allows this stunt to continue, entrepreneurs lose out on hundreds of millions of dollars in potential capital and contracting opportunities, a devastating reality that will slow job growth and damage our national economy.”

Among other findings, the report noted that:

• A shutdown reduces access to capital for SBA’s flagship 7(a) lending product by approximately $90 million per day. This translates to 192 small businesses per day that cannot access the capital they need to grow and create new jobs.
• Through the 504 loan program, small businesses can acquire real estate and new equipment. A shutdown prevents the disbursement of approximately 117 of these loans per week, representing a weekly total of over $102 million.
• Previous shutdown data indicates that on a daily basis, a shutdown could cause small firms to forgo approximately 6,875 contract actions worth $301,656,083 million.
• With an estimated 380,000 federal furloughed employees and another 420,000 working without pay all over the country, small firms will lose business and confidence in the economy.

“House Democrats have passed legislation to reopen the government and put America’s small business sector back to work,” said Velázquez. “This week, we plan to do so again, and I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to put partisan politics aside, do what is right by hardworking Americans, and join us in voting to reopen the government.”

The report is available online here.

###