Shaheen Statement on Small Business Week
(Manchester, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, issued the following statement in celebration of Small Business Week, which is from May 1 to May 5.
“Small businesses are the backbone of New Hampshire’s economy and embody the heart and soul of our communities. During National Small Business Week, I’m thrilled to help draw attention to the important role that these businesses play throughout the Granite State,” said Shaheen. “Especially as our small businesses focus on recovery efforts from the effects of the pandemic, coupled with financial strains exacerbated by supply chain delays and workforce challenges, showing our support is more important than ever. I’ll continue to advocate on behalf of our small business community and keep working across the aisle to advance legislation to help them succeed and grow.”
On Friday, Shaheen hosted Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman at Uni-Cast, a Londonderry aluminum investment casting manufacturer, to discuss the role of Granite State manufacturing, supply chain challenges amid the pandemic, workforce needs and federal assistance for small businesses.
Senator Shaheen worked to provide small businesses with the resources they need to weather and recover from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shaheen helped lead negotiations on provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to assist small businesses, which established the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and expanded the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, both of which were lifelines for businesses throughout New Hampshire and the country. More than 41,000 New Hampshire small businesses and non-profits, including Uni-Cast, received over $3.7 billion in PPP assistance, following Shaheen’s successful push to extend the deadline to apply for federal funding through PPP. In the COVID-19 relief signed into law in December 2020, Shaheen helped secure $20 billion for the EIDL emergency grant program and $3.5 billion to extend the Debt Relief Program established under the CARES Act, which covers payment of principal, interest and fees on all pre-existing and new SBA-backed loans.
A list of the SBA’s 2022 New Hampshire Small Business Week Award winners is available here.
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