MENG ISSUES STATEMENT ON EXECUTIVE ORDER SHUTTING DOWN MINORITY BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, today issued the following statement on the March 14 executive order to shut down the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).

“Since the agency’s founding under President Nixon and strengthening under President Reagan, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) has been a lifeline for thousands of American entrepreneurs who are building businesses, creating jobs, and strengthening our communities. With relatively modest annual funding, every year the MBDA helps American businesses secure billions in contracts and financing and support tens of thousands of jobs. This isn’t government waste – it’s a smart down payment on economic opportunity and American competitiveness, with a fantastic return on investment.

 In recognition of MBDA’s decades of success as an engine of opportunity, Congress permanently authorized MBDA in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and appropriated $68,250,000 for the agency for fiscal year 2025, which was signed into law by President Trump just last Saturday. This contradicted an action he took one day earlier: when urged on by Elon Musk, President Trump signed an executive order to unlawfully shut down MBDA’s services for small businesses. The executive order isn’t just illegal – it’s an attack by billionaires on vital programs that power the American dream for business owners and workers in every state. I expect President Trump and his Administration to abide by and implement the funding for MBDA that he approved and signed into law last Saturday.”