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Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY), the top Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, released the following statement regarding how the Small Business Administration (SBA) would be impacted by the Trump budget outline released today: 

“While it is lacking in detail, the Trump budget outline suggests this Administration does not recognize the value small businesses add to our economy.  Just as Donald Trump had a long record in the private sector of shortchanging small business vendors, this budget leaves entrepreneurs behind, reducing resources many of them use to grow and create jobs.   

“The President’s budget requests $826.5 million for SBA, resulting in a 5% cut. This reduction will significantly impact our nation’s small business owners. 

“The Administration proposes eliminating supposedly redundant programs, specifically mentioning the PRIME technical assistance grants.  This important program helps micro-businesses grow and thrive in the federal marketplace. Eliminating PRIME is a mistake and would give big businesses another way to succeed over small ones since smaller firms will no longer be able to get technical assistance they need to participate in the procurement market.

“Although cutting duplicative programs is an understandable goal, SBA programs serve an important purpose in reaching business owners who often cannot receive assistance elsewhere. Consolidation of highly effective business centers would hinder entrepreneurship, particularly by underserved populations and in underserved areas. Many of the SBA’s programs leverage effective private-public partnerships to maximize their reach and impact on small businesses, typically filling the gap left by the private sector. There is no guarantee that the Administration’s plan to cut SBA support of these partnerships is the panacea that will suddenly spur additional private investment.

“We have always championed increasing federal support for the SBA microloan program which provides a critical funding stream to traditionally underserved entrepreneurs, including minorities and women.  By keeping the microloan programs funding and technical assistance levels consistent with FY2016, this Administration is artificially reducing access to capital for thousands of deserving entrepreneurs and job creators. As such, the Administration should be increasing the funding levels for this program to help these businesses. 

“Finally, it is unclear where a reduction in $1 billion in lending authority, $46 billion to $45 billion, will come from.  Without additional information and an explanation from the Trump Administration, it is entirely possible that a reduction in SBA’s successful, long-standing loan guarantee programs could have unintended consequences for deserving borrowers and job creators. 

“SBA simply cannot be expected to do more with less and taking resources away from the SBA is taking them away from small businesses. I hope the Administration considers how the proposed cuts will impact the agency in achieving its mission to support America’s small businesses and, when she appears before our Committee, I intend to ask the Administrator to address these issues.”

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