Rosen Delivers Floor Speech in Support of Isabel Guzman as SBA Administrator, Votes to Confirm Nomination

Watch Senator Rosen’s Full Remarks Here.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen, a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, spoke on the Senate floor in support of the nomination of Isabel Guzman to serve as Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). In her remarks, Senator Rosen pledged to work with the nominee to lift the cap on EIDL Loans and EDIL Advance grants. Immediately following her remarks, Senator Rosen voted to confirm Mrs. Guzman’s nomination, which passed the Senate by a vote of 81 to 17.

“We urgently need a leader who is experienced and prepared for the work ahead, someone who will hit the ground running to revive and restore our small businesses and bring back jobs,” dijo el Senador Rosen. “Isabel Guzman is exactly the right person for this task.”

 “Last week, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law, a major win for small businesses across the country,” Senator Rosen continued. “This will provide real relief to small business owners, employees, and the families that they provide for. For so many, this additional aid will mean the difference between a business keeping its doors open or closing them forever. Now, we need an SBA Administrator who will see that this relief is delivered swiftly and fully.”

“I look forward to working with Administrator Guzman and the SBA to remove the cap on EIDL loans, and to provide full EIDL Advance grants to all eligible small businesses – giving greater access to the relief small business owners need. As we continue on the road to recovery, I am confident Administrator Guzman will immediately get to work supporting our small businesses,” Senator Rosen concluded.

BACKGROUND: Earlier this month, Senator Rosen, along with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), introduced the Ensuring Increased Disaster Loans (EIDL) for Small Businesses Act. This bipartisan legislation would assist our nation’s small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic by providing an additional $15 billion for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Advance grants, money included in the American Rescue Plan Act that President Biden recently signed into law. The bill would also remove the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) caps on EIDL loans below $2 million – the threshold set by Congress – and require SBA to provide the full $10,000 EIDL Advance grants to all eligible small businesses, regardless of size or location, as intended by the original CARES Act

Rosen and Cornyn first introduced the EIDL for Small Businesses Act in July 2020.

 ###