WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, announced she has led a group of six of her Senate colleagues in a letter to Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, respectively, requesting access to SBA loans for non-profit child care small businesses, which currently lack access to the same capital programs as for-profit child care providers.
Senator Rosen also led a group of Senate colleagues in a separate letter to Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government, respectively, requesting access to SBA loans for cannabis small businesses, which are currently barred from receiving such aid.
Lastly, Senator Rosen led a group of Senate colleagues in a letter to Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and John Hoeven (R-ND), Chair and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, respectively, requesting $37 million in funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Development Grant (RBDG) program.
“As you begin drafting the Fiscal Year (FY) Financial Services and General Government and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, we respectfully request that you include report language to allow non-profit child care providers access to the same Small Business Administration (SBA) loan products as for-profit child care providers,” wrote the Senators in their letter requesting access to SBA loans for child care small businesses. “As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we make critical investments in our child care infrastructure. By increasing access to additional capital resources through the SBA, this will provide support for non-profit child care providers to expand the availability of high-quality child care for working families.”
“In 2020, states collected an estimated $3 billion in tax revenue from legal cannabis sales. However, SBA’s current policy excludes small businesses with “direct” or “indirect” products or services that aid the use, growth, enhancement, or other development of cannabis from SBA-backed financing,” wrote the Senators in their letter requesting access to SBA loans for cannabis small businesses. “Consequently, small businesses in states with some form of legal cannabis must choose between remaining eligible for SBA programs and participating in or doing business with a rapidly-growing and legal industry.”
“RBDG [Rural Business Development Grant program] supports the development and growth of rural small and emerging businesses with fewer than 50 employees and less than $1 million in gross revenues. This funding is especially critical now as communities across the country recover from the economic impacts of the pandemic,” wrote the Senators in their letter requesting funding for the Rural Business Development Grant program. “Small businesses provide the majority of jobs in rural communities, yet often have less access to credit and capital when compared with urban areas. Investing in our rural businesses, such as through the RBDG program, ensures that communities in every corner of the country can continue to thrive and have a strong local economy.”
The full text of the letter requesting access to SBA loans for child care small businesses can be found here.
The full text of the letter requesting access to SBA loans for cannabis small businesses can be found here.
The full text of the letter requesting funding for the Rural Business Development Grant program can be found here.
###
