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Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), the Ranking Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, released the following statement regarding Hurricane Harvey and damage in Texas: 

            “All Americans stand united with the residents of Houston, southeast Texas and all those affected by Harvey.  

            “We saw during Hurricane Sandy that the faster small businesses and entrepreneurs recover, the more quickly local communities and economies get back on their feet following disasters.  SBA can play an important role in this regard.  Unfortunately, during Sandy, the SBA’s emergency loan programs were overwhelmed and operated slowly, making the program ineffective for many seeking assistance.  Since then, the Committee worked to improve these initiatives, enacting changes to SBA’s disaster lending functions. 

            “I am pleased the SBA has already acted to make both Economic Injury and Physical Damage Loans available to small businesses in counties impacted by Harvey. I have been in touch with the Administrator and believe she is proactively working to ensure the agency channels assistance to impacted firms and homeowners.  Houston faces a long recovery process and, in coming months, I will work with Chairman Chabot to ensure SBA’s disaster programs are functioning as Congress intended and providing help to those in need.”  

The Small Business Administration provides low-interest emergency loans to qualifying businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners, and renters. Additional information is available on SBA’s website here.