Small Businesses Urge President Biden to Call on Investments in Small Business Resources in State of the Union Address

"The president's State of the Union (SOTU) address is an opportunity for this administration to highlight policies that will empower our nation's innovators and advance small business growth. To help small businesses thrive, we encourage President Biden to underscore the importance of continued investments in America's small business community throughout his upcoming SOTU speech. 

Within the first three years of the Biden-Harris Administration, entrepreneurs filed a record 16 million new business applications. To sustain this business boom, it is important for President Biden to utilize the SOTU to continue championing the importance of investing in the small business community, particularly in under-resourced businesses. 

Under this administration, small businesses have seen increased investments in federal procurement opportunities, expanded lending programs focused on disadvantaged businesses, and millions of dollars in funding for training and service programs targeted at very small and underserved businesses and entrepreneurs. To illustrate the president’s commitment to small businesses and amplify the momentum around entrepreneur growth, we hope the following points will be included in the upcoming SOTU address.

• Maintain funding for key small business programs: Small businesses, especially those that are underserved and minority-owned, need expanded access to capital and resources that help them scale and thrive. We must ensure critical programs (including the Small Business Administration, the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) at the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency) are fully funded and firing on all cylinders to support small business growth. 

• Bolster a Main Street-friendly workforce and the creation of quality jobs: Implementing federal policies that will lower healthcare costs, provide accessible retirement savings options, and create a framework for paid family/medical leave and affordable childcare programs will cultivate a sustainable workforce and make small businesses competitive. To build upon the administration's announcement last week that it has finalized a rule strengthening the Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program, President Biden should call on Congress to take additional action to address the high cost of child care in the U.S., which is creating barriers to employment and entrepreneurship.

• Foster a level playing field for American small businesses: Anticompetitive business practices and unfair tax systems are putting very small businesses and solo entrepreneurs at a competitive disadvantage to larger corporations. Reining in anticompetitive business practices and reforming business tax provisions will help to build competition and generate equitable economic growth. 

Federal policies and programs targeted toward small businesses have repeatedly proved essential to ensuring entrepreneurs can access the capital and resources needed to scale and grow their businesses. We urge the president and Congress to keep these programs fully funded and actively support additional resources that will promote a thriving economy." 

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