Small Business
“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy. Federal support helped many weather the COVID-19 pandemic, but we have a menu of help for America’s small businesses and we’re not finished yet.”
Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They account for over 99 percent of all businesses and employ nearly half of all workers in the country. I am proud of Maryland’s strong small business sector, and even more proud that our state concentrations of minority- and women-owned small businesses in the country. Although women, minorities, and other underserved entrepreneurs in the past several decades, there remain many pervasive structural barriers that prevents their businesses from reaching their full potential. That is why as a Senate Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee member, my top priority is to use the federal government as a tool to promote and achieve equity with regard to capital access, mentorship, training, and government contracting opportunities for underserved entrepreneurs.
The federal government’s capacity to address these historical challenges has been evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Studies have shown that policies championed by me and Senate Democrats bridged critical gaps in capital access to ensure that underserved small businesses had adequate access to Paycheck Protection Program loans. In the years ahead, I am committed to building on these successes to directly address the historical challenges that entrepreneurs in underserved communities face so they can start and grow businesses and create jobs.
