Small Business, Jobs and the Economy

SMALL BUSINESSES

Small businesses create 2 out of every 3 new jobs in our country, and it is my mission as a member of the Small Business Committee to help them do what they do best: create good-paying jobs, drive innovation, contribute to their community, and strengthen the middle class.

I am working to expand access to capital, create a competitive workforce through education and training, and make sure that underserved businesses and entrepreneurs are supported.

Small Business Development Centers

I’m proud to have brought the first two Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) to the San Gabriel Valley: the SBDC hosted by Pasadena City College and the SBDC hosted by University of La Verne. SBDCs are partnerships between the Small Business Administration (SBA) and local colleges and universities that provide free, confidential services to small business owners. At SBDCs, any person who wants to start or expand their small business can get help developing a business plan, learning how to market, or accessing financing. 

And in 2024, the San Gabriel Valley’s first SBA-backed Women’s Business Center (WBC) opened its doors and is now in operation alongside the SBDC at Pasadena City College. This WBC provides specialized support and resources to female entrepreneurs and will help contribute to our vibrant and diverse small business community. 

Expanding Access to Capital

Financial capital is critical for small businesses—it allows them to invest in new equipment, hire employees, and grow. But that capital can be hard to come by and hard to afford. That’s why I successfully fought to pass the Commercial Real Estate and Economic Development (CREED) Act into law in 2015, which allows small businesses to use the SBA’s 504 loan program to refinance their non-SBA loans. This helps more businesses save money by using the 504 program’s lower interest, long-term, government-backed loans so they can invest in new equipment and facilities. And, the CREED Act is completely funded by SBA fees, which means this law helps boost the economy without costing the taxpayers a dime. 

Further, the SBA’s Community Advantage loan program fills an important gap in the lending market by providing capital and technical assistance to the smallest, most underserved businesses who can’t quite qualify for a private loan from a bank or even a traditional SBA loan. These Community Advantage Loans are provided by mission-based, nonprofit lenders who understand the challenges that underserved businesses face, and provide technical assistance to help them succeed. That’s why it has a more than decade-long track record of reaching more women- and minority-owned businesses than SBA’s traditional 7(a) loan program. Fortunately, the Biden-Harris Administration elevated Community Advantage from a temporary pilot program to a long-term fixture.

But because it has never been authorized in the law, a future Administration could decide to cancel it. That’s why I introduced the Community Advantage Loan Program Act of 2024, which would finally give permanence to the Community Advantage program by authorizing it in the law, and make other important changes.  

Investing in Main Street and Supporting Entrepreneurs

An overwhelming majority of small businesses are turned away for conventional loans by banks, and only a tiny fraction receive third-party investments. This is why we rely on the SBA to help fill this gap in access to capital. Small Business Investment Companies, or SBICs, are SBA-backed institutions that provide both equity and debt investments to high-potential startups. SBICs have helped companies like Costco, Apple, and Intel get off the ground when they were considered small businesses. But a 60 year-old law—the Small Business Investment Act of 1958—put a cap on the amount that traditional banks or federal savings associations can invest in SBICs. My bill, the Investing in Main Street Act, would modernize that outdated law to triple the percentage of capital and surplus that a bank or federal savings association may invest in SBICs. This bill was already passed by the House of Representatives, and I am working towards getting it through the Senate and signed into law.

JOBS AND THE ECONOMY

I have worked hard to support our economy by investing in our communities and creating new, good-paying jobs. That is why I worked hard in Congress to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which was signed into law by President Biden in 2021. This law represents an historic $1.2 trillion investment in America’s roads, bridges, public transit, high-speed internet, clean drinking water, environmental justice, and under-resourced communities and will create two million new, good-paying jobs. I’m excited to say that this law has already delivered billions in investments for California.

I also worked with my bipartisan colleagues and President Biden to pass into law the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act in August 2022. The law provides critical funding to expand domestic manufacturing, invest in research and development, strengthen our supply chains, and create high-paying jobs right here at home. It will ensure that America has a robust, domestic supply chain for semiconductors and remains a global leader in science and technology. With world-class research institutions like Caltech in our district, I was proud to have voted for a bill that supports our local jobs and maintains our region’s leadership in research and development.

On the Ways and Means Committee, I worked with my Democratic colleagues to craft and pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the nation’s largest ever investment in clean energy. This law, which was signed by President Biden in August 2022, is incentivizing the creation of new jobs, creating a surge in domestic manufacturing, and strengthening our energy supply chain—all while lowering energy costs for consumers and addressing climate change.

Protecting Small Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond

Small businesses were some of the first and hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. I worked quickly in a bipartisan manner on the House Small Business Committee to extend the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to businesses hurt by COVID, and create brand new relief programs like the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to help businesses keep employees on payroll and stay afloat. I helped ensure pandemic aid was distributed equitably by creating a special $60 billion set-aside specifically for the community financial institutions and small lenders more likely to have relationships with the smallest businesses, which are disproportionately owned by people of color and women. In 2021, I worked with Democrats in Congress to pass the American Rescue Plan Act, an historic economic relief package that made more entities eligible for PPP and created two historic new grant programs, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) and Hard Hit Industries Award Program. I am thrilled to say these programs were a tremendous success, saving thousands of small businesses and supporting jobs all across the country.