OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act of 2018

Floor Speech

Date: May 8, 2018
Location: Washington, DC


Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1702, the Small Business Development Centers Improvement Act.

Whether it is helping to create a business plan, navigate the procurement process, market a new product, or identify international trade opportunities, the SBA's entrepreneurial development programs provide an array of services to help small firms navigate obstacles, grow, and thrive.

Entrepreneurs, therefore, significantly benefit from having tools to identify, fiscally plan for, and maintain critical business improvements.

Entrepreneurs located throughout the country, including in underserved rural and inner-city communities, benefit from accessible, affordable technical assistance. This reduces their isolation from buyers and other businesses.

In addition to outreach, hands-on counseling is critical for businesses to obtain information pertinent to their local market and capacities. That is why SBDCs are so critical to our local communities.

Today's bill modernizes and strengthens the SBDC network by improving data collection, streamlining collaboration, reducing paperwork, and allowing additional outreach on marketing to be performed.

H.R. 1702 is a comprehensive bill providing necessary steps forward to advance our Nation's entrepreneurial economic system.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ.

There is no question that we need to support the cornerstone of the SBA's entrepreneurial programs, the small business development centers. H.R. 1702 does just that by updating marketing strategies and requiring more reporting so we can better understand the system provided to our constituencies.

Today's bill is endorsed by America's SBDCs, an association representing the 63 SBDC networks and their nearly 1,000 centers.

I would like to thank Representative Evans for leading this bill and all his efforts to improve the program. I would also like to thank Halimah Locke and Veena Srinivasa for their dedicated work on this legislation.

I urge Members to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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