Senate Hearing on SBA Nomination is Step Forward For Small Business Community
Statement by John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority, on today̢???s U.S. Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing to move forward with Maria Contreras-Sweet̢???s confirmation process as SBA administrator
Today̢???s Senate hearing to advance Maria Contreras-Sweet̢???s nomination as SBA administrator is an important step forward to providing strong leadership for the small business community. She is a proven champion of small businesses and her diverse background working to expand access to capital, encourage investment and promote job creation in the government, non-profit and private sectors will be a critical asset for her new role as SBA administrator, especially during these difficult economic times.
As chairwoman of ProAm???rica Bank, Contreras-Sweet worked to help entrepreneurs access credit and financial services, empowering them to build successful small and mid-sized businesses. Our scientific opinion polling shows small business owners need capital to grow and hire, but getting it is extremely difficult. Ms. Contreras-Sweet̢???s experience in this field will be crucial to helping mitigate this problem.
Contreras-Sweet has shown she understands the link between small employers and our overall fiscal success, and we̢???re pleased she̢???ll be spearheading the SBA̢???s policies. We hope under her leadership, the SBA will continue to build on the good work of Karen Mills and Jean Hulit, focus more on women and minority entrepreneurship and be a strong advocate for small businesses within the Administration.
The small business community is ready for Contreras-Sweet̢???s leadership, and we encourage lawmakers to move forward with her confirmation as quickly as possible. We look forward to working with her on bolstering small business and promoting a strong economy.
<p><strong>About Small Business Majority</strong><br />
Small Business Majority is a national small business advocacy organization, founded and run by small business owners to focus on solving the biggest problems facing America's 28 million small businesses today. Since 2005, we have actively engaged small business owners and policymakers in support of public policy solutions, and have delivered information and resources to entrepreneurs that promote small business growth and drive a strong, sustainable economy. We are a team of more than 30 working from our 11 offices in Washington, D.C. and 9 states, with a network of more than 45,000 small business owners and more than 2,000 business organizations, along with a formal strategic partnership program of more than 125 business organizations, enabling us to reach more than 500,000 entrepreneurs. Our extensive scientific polling, focus groups and economic research help us educate and inform policymakers, the media and other stakeholders about issues including taxes, healthcare, access to capital, entrepreneurship, workforce development, clean energy and immigration. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on <a href="https://twitter.com/SBM_Media" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SmallBusinessMajority" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://instagram.com/smlbizmajority/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>.</p>