Washington, D.C.— Today, House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) issued the following statement after President Biden’s State of the Union Address:
“As President Biden made clear tonight, the state of the union and the American economy are strong. Unemployment is at its lowest rate in over 50 years, we’ve added 12 million jobs since the President took office, and workers’ paychecks are continuing to grow. Since the start of the Biden administration, the President and Democrats in Congress have set out to rebuild the economy to benefit working families. This began with the American Rescue Plan, which provided over $1 trillion to help families and small businesses weather the pandemic and start their journey to recovery. Then, in 2021, Democrats and Republicans joined together to pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provided the funds to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure and give small businesses a leading role in the effort. The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act also invested billions in American manufacturing, creating new opportunities for small business owners like Paul Sarzoza, who attended the speech as a special guest of the President. Finally, to close out the 117th Congress, Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a historic piece of legislation full of measures to lower health care and energy costs, make generational investments in climate, and ensure that large corporations pay their fair share in taxes.
“Our legislative agenda has delivered for working families and American entrepreneurs. The first two years of the Biden administration have been some of the most successful for small businesses on record. 2021 and 2022 were the two greatest years for new small business applications on record, with over 10 million entrepreneurs applying to start new businesses.
“As the top Democrat on the Small Business Committee, I was proud to work with the President to lay the groundwork for this small business boom. Small firms are the backbone of the economy and a key to unlocking our country’s full potential. I was pleased to hear President Biden’s proposals to institute a billionaire tax and new measures to ensure the largest corporations pay their fair share in taxes. These policies will help small businesses compete on a level playing field with their large corporate peers. I look forward to continuing to work with the Biden administration and my colleagues in Congress to build on all the successes small businesses have experienced over the past two years.”
