WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate, in a bipartisan vote, confirmed Isabel Guzman to head the Small Business Administration (SBA). Ms. Guzman previously led California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate and served as SBA deputy chief of staff during the Obama Administration.
Center for Responsible Lending Director of Latino Affairs Aracely Panameño issued the following statement:
At this critical time for small businesses in America, we congratulate and welcome Isabel Guzman as the new SBA Administrator. We are optimistic that with her strong leadership and substantial track record in serving this vital sector of our economy, Administrator Guzman will help the SBA equitably serve all small businesses.
While the Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loan program was well-intended, the mammoth program initially failed to distribute much needed support to microbusinesses and businesses owned by people of color. Much progress has been made, and we call on Administrator Guzman and the SBA to quickly work with Treasury and Congress to make additional improvements to the program.
Such improvements must include making retroactive the rule change for Schedule C filers to benefit microbusinesses and sole proprietors; encouraging financial institutions participating in the program to collect demographic data; and seeing to it that the rest of the program is administered equitably for business owners of color hardest hit by the pandemic and its economic fallout.
We look forward to working closely with the SBA on these fixes and on future robust support for the businesses that vitalize communities across the nation, particularly the Black and Latino businesses that have previously been underserved.
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Press Contact: carol.parish@responsiblelending.org