Advocating for the more than 33 million small businesses across America, Isabel Casillas Guzman, chief of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), acclaimed President Biden's Budget for Fiscal Year 2025. The Budget focuses on supporting the growth of small businesses and innovative start-ups that power America's Small Business Boom.
What Are the Key Terms of This Budget?
The crux of this new Budget is an "unwavering commitment to strengthening entrepreneurial outcomes." The plan lays out various ways small businesses will be provided access to capital. It also offers business growth training and relieves communities affected by disasters.
Since President Biden took office, the economy boasts 16.5 million new business applications. The plan seeks to maintain this progressive momentum.
Access to Capital - What's New?
At the center of this endeavor is Biden's Budget, which is set to expand capital access for small businesses. Entrepreneurs can anticipate access to unprecedented levels of lending and investment.
The Budget will support multiple business lending programs. These include the 7(a) business loan guarantee, capital for major fixed assets, Small Business Investment Company (SBIC), and Microloan programs. The SBA is investing a hefty $58 billion in lending and investment.
The Budget also proposes increasing the maximum SBA loan size for small manufacturers and exporters. The SBA aims to resolve the small loan access gap with a new direct 7(a) lending program.
Disaster Recovery: Is There a Plan?
In the current climate of frequent natural disasters, Biden's Budget ensures continued support for the SBA's Disaster Loan Program. This essential low-interest disaster loan program offers homeowners, renters, nonprofits, and businesses a financial safety net after a disaster.
Equitable Access and Training Resources - How Are We Faring?
A proposed $20 million grant for the Community Navigator Pilot Program would benefit underprivileged communities. This initiative collaborates with community organizations to produce and spread awareness of free and low-cost business counseling and training resources and significantly reduce barriers to access.
Innovation and Jobs: What Does the Budget Promise?
Biden's Budget seeks to nurture innovation and offers a $30 million grant to foster growth in innovative sectors. This grant will support initiatives such as the SBA's Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, Regional Innovation Clusters, and the Federal and State Technology Partnership Program.
A further $15.5 million is set aside to provide for veteran and service-disabled veteran-owned small business certifications and renewals.
Enhanced Customer Experience: How Will Processes Change?
The new Budget aims to streamline processes and improve entrepreneurs' customer experiences. Initiatives include launching a MySBA unified small business certification system and additional support for prudent oversight and fraud risk management.
Unfolding the Legal Framework?
Biden's budget proposal meets the Budget and Accounting Act requirements of 1921. This legal benchmark, dating from the Progressive Era, dictated that the President must prepare and submit a complete federal budget to Congress annually.
The President modifies agency budget requests before they are submitted to Congress. The President's budget submission translates to a unified federal budgetary resource allocation plan.
Congress may consider the President's Budget as a set of recommendations, but it is not legally bound to adopt those. Under current law, the President must provide a consolidated budget to Congress no later than the first Monday in February, preceding the start of the upcoming fiscal year.
Biden's Budget manifests his commitment to securing uncompromising upward momentum for small businesses nationwide.
