Washington, D.C.— Today, House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) released the following statement in response to President Trump’s 2021 Budget request:
"Instead of serving as a blueprint for the future, the Trump budget seeks to slash the funding our small businesses rely on to stay competitive and innovative in a 21st century economy.
“I am extremely disappointed that the Trump administration takes aim at the Small Business Administration by proposing to cut the agency’s budget by 25 percent, while also proposing cuts to federal entrepreneurial development initiatives by $93 million, a clear disinvestment in the hardworking small businessmen and women across America. With across-the-board cuts to these programs, resource centers such as Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women Business Centers (WBCs), Veteran Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), and SCORE mentors throughout the nation will find it more difficult to provide technical assistance, mentoring, and education to entrepreneurs, especially in underserved communities.
“By slashing access to rural broadband programs by $305 million, the Trump budget threatens to keep small businesses from connecting online, allowing crucial markets and opportunities to remain out of reach. By zeroing out funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership, the President’s budget takes aim at the ability of small manufacturing firms to expand and create jobs. Without funding for climate research and aggressive action to fight climate change, this budget means our small businesses will continue to be subject to worsening natural disasters and hostile production environments.
“President Trump made clear his interest in serving Wall Street over Main Street when his Administration enacted a corporate tax giveaway. Now, as the deficit balloons, the President is further turning his back on hardworking Americans with a budget full of cuts and misplaced priorities.”
