Vice President Harris to travel to Richmond to highlight the new report and discuss the impact of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda
WASHINGTON — Today, in honor of National Small Business Week, the Biden-Harris Administration released a report detailing how the American Rescue Plan’s (ARP) State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is providing support to small businesses across the country, and in particular how states will use SSBCI to expand access to capital for small manufacturers. Vice President Harris will highlight this new SSBCI report during a visit to a small manufacturing company in Virginia which has received an SSBCI investment, where she will discuss how the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda is rebuilding the U.S manufacturing base by empowering small businesses.
“Small manufacturing businesses play a vital role in our economy,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “The State Small Business Credit Initiative and President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is helping unlock the potential of entrepreneurs across the manufacturing sector who may have otherwise never had the support needed to pursue their business ideas.”
Alongside today’s report, the White House released a fact sheet detailing how the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, including the Treasury Department-run SSBCI program, is strengthening this small business boom and encouraging the fastest manufacturing recovery since the 1950s. The Treasury Department has partnered with the White House in convening manufacturing-focused discussions among nearly twenty states to stand up initiatives to address a host of common challenges faced by small manufacturers. Small manufacturers owned by underserved entrepreneurs stand to benefit from SSBCI as jurisdictions have designed programs to expand access to capital and plan to stand up technical assistance programs that help entrepreneurs applying for SSBCI supported financing.
The ARP reauthorized and expanded SSBCI, which was originally established in 2010 and was highly successful in increasing access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs. The new SSBCI builds on this successful model by providing nearly $10 billion to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments to increase access to capital and promote entrepreneurship, especially in traditionally underserved communities as they emerge from the pandemic. This includes $2.5 billion in funding and incentives to support underserved businesses. SSBCI funding is expected to catalyze up to $10 of private investment for every $1 of SSBCI capital funding, amplifying the effects of this funding and providing small business owners with the resources they need to sustainably grow and thrive.
To date, the Treasury Department has approved 52 out of 56 state and territory applications for SSBCI totaling over $8 billion in allocations, and programs have already begun supporting small businesses across the country. The work the Department has done through SSBCI’s implementation process to help these funds reach traditionally underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs will continue to be critical to ensuring these resources support communities disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
SSBCI investments are a key part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s strategy to strengthen the small business boom we’ve seen since the start of this Administration by expanding access to capital and by providing entrepreneurs the resources they need to succeed. In January, the Census Bureau released data which showed that over the last two years Americans have applied to start 10.5 million new businesses, making 2021 and 2022 the strongest two years on record for new business applications. Earlier this week, the White House released a report card demonstrating across-the-board progress on commitments designed to maintain the nation’s historic momentum in fostering new businesses that’s led to the small business boom seen over the last two years.
###