The new head of the small business administration says she expects to make changes to the agency that she says will enable it to further help small businesses that were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, two days after she was sworn in, Isabella Casillas Guzman said her immediate focus was the implementation of the small business provisions in the $ 1.9 billion coronavirus rescue package, President Joseph Biden, last week signed it.
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The country has lost 400,000 businesses since the start of the pandemic, Guzman said, warning that “much more is at stake”.
Isabella Casillas Guzman, left, takes part in a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony as administrator of the small business administration in the Eisenhower office building on the White House campus, on Monday, March 22, 2021 in Washington. (AP Photo / Pat
Guzman expects small businesses to help in the bailout package, including $ 10 billion to support government loans to businesses, and $ 100 million for a new program called Community Navigator, which aims to provide education and advice to struggling business owners. But, she said, more vaccinations against the coronavirus and the $ 1,400 stimulus payments that millions of Americans receive will ultimately also help matters by helping the economy recover.
These are indirect utilities. The rescue package also includes direct aid in the form of additional money for the Paycheck Protection Program and more than $ 28 billion in grants for restaurants hammered by the government’s cessation during the virus outbreak.
Guzman already knows how the SBA works since he was a deputy chief of staff at the agency during the Obama administration.
“We will look at our overall programs to see a way forward for small businesses,” she said. Guzman acknowledged that the SBA’s role has changed dramatically as a result of the pandemic; she said the agency has received attention it has never had in the past.
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The SBA’s lending focus over the past year has been the PPP, which has approved nearly 8 million loans worth more than $ 700 billion. Prior to the pandemic, the agency’s key lending vehicles were its 7 (a) and 504 programs that owners turned to for loans to start and build their businesses. Those traditional lending programs could undergo changes, Guzman said.
The administrator’s agenda also includes improving SBA technology to make it more accessible to businesses; she noted that many businesses have adopted or upgraded their technology to survive the outbreak of viruses.
“We just have to make sure we modernize the SBA,” she said.
Isabella Casillas Guzman said her immediate focus is on implementing the small business provisions in the $ 1.9 billion coronavirus rescue package signed by President Joseph Biden last week. (FILE)
The SBA plans to use Community Navigator to gather information to determine what changes it needs to make, Guzman said. The program is aimed at collaborating with community financial institutions and SBA-sponsored small business development centers to help struggling and disadvantaged businesses.
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“It will give us a strong feedback loop from small businesses on what their needs are,” Guzman said.
Prior to joining the SBA, Guzman was also director of California’s Small Business Attorney’s Office. She has held positions at, among others, ProAmerica Bank, a commercial bank in California, and GovContractPros, a consulting firm in Chevy Chase, Maryland, which she co-founded.