NH Congressional Delegation Calls on SBA to Approve State’s Emergency Declaration to Support NH Small Businesses

(Washington, DC) – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representatives Annie Kuster (NH-02) and Chris Pappas (NH-01) called on the Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue an emergency declaration to ensure New Hampshire small businesses are eligible for the full suite of emergency resources available through the SBA.

In a letter to the Administration of the SBA, Jovita Carranza, the delegation wrote:

“Small businesses in New Hampshire are hurting due to the precipitous drop in demand as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and in the days and weeks to come will need significant help managing cash flow, payroll and other immediate business expenses.”                                      

The full text of the letter is available here. Additional information about SBA resources can be found here.

Senator Shaheen and the New Hampshire congressional delegation have been sounding the alarm on the need for additional federal funding to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. Following calls from the delegation and others in Congress, on Friday President Trump declared a national emergency in response to the spread of coronavirus. Shaheen and Hassan have called for the Senate to swiftly pass the bipartisan economic coronavirus response legislation that passed the House last Friday. The delegation supported bipartisan government funding legislation to help states’ response efforts, which was recently signed into law. Last week, the CDC disbursed the $4.9 million funds for New Hampshire included in that funding package.