Shaheen Encourages Shopping Local Ahead of Small Business Saturday during Downtown Walk

(Dover, NH) – Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) encouraged holiday shopping at small businesses during a Small Business Saturday Downtown Walk. As a senior member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship committee and a former small business owner, Shaheen understands the importance of putting small businesses first. Shaheen was joined by Dover Mayor Robert Carrier, New Hampshire Small Business Administration Director Amy Bassett, President of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce Margaret Joyce and other regional Seacoast business leaders. During the walk, Shaheen visited three Dover businesses: The Sassy Biscuit Co., Noggin Factory Toy Shop and Lickee’s & Chewy’s Candies and Creamery.

“Small Business Saturday is always an excellent reminder during the holiday season for Granite Staters to shop local, but that’s also a sentiment we need to push year-round. Our small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and especially as we fight our way to the other side of the pandemic, showing them our support has never been as important,” said Shaheen, a senior member of the Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee. “I had a lovely afternoon meeting with the owners and employees of our Dover businesses to hear about challenges they’re facing and what Congress can do to respond to those needs. I appreciated their time, and was thrilled to have Mayor Carrier, NH SBA Director Amy Bassett and others with me during our downtown walk. As the Senate takes up the President’s Build Back Better agenda, I look forward to pushing for provisions that will support our working families, including our small business owners, to ensure they have the support and resources they need to succeed and thrive.”

Shaheen worked to provide small businesses with the resources they need to weather and recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped lead negotiations on provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act that was signed into law in 2020 to assist small businesses, which established the Paycheck Protection Program. More than 41,000 New Hampshire small businesses and non-profits received over $3.7 billion in PPP assistance.