MENG BRINGS HEAD OF U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (SBA) TO QUEENS

QUEENS, NY – Today, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) brought the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to Queens. Meng and SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman toured local small businesses in Flushing and Jackson Heights, and they visited Queens College’s Small Business Development Center(SBDC) that Meng help to establish.

The two heard the concerns of area business owners and Meng showed Guzman the great vibrancy of small businesses in the borough.

As the Administrator of the SBA, Guzman serves in President Biden’s Cabinet where she is the leading advocate for America’s 33 million small businesses and startups. President Biden chose her to lead the agency in 2021.

Under her leadership, the SBA manages a $500 billion portfolio and deploys $50 billion in annual funding to America’s small business owners including many in Queens and throughout New York City. This was her first trip to Meng’s congressional district in Queens.

The SBA, created by Congress in 1953, works to help small businesses grow and succeed across New York and the nation. Services include loans, grants, business plan-development, business counseling, help with obtaining government contracts and many other programs.

Meng is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which funds the SBA, and previously served on the House Small Business Committee.

“It was an honor to welcome Administrator Guzman to Queens and I thank her for accepting my invitation to visit our borough,” said Congresswoman Meng. “I’m thrilled she was able to see firsthand the vital role that small businesses play in neighborhoods I represent, and how they provide needed services to constituents and serve as the engine of our local economy. As the daughter of Queens small business owners, I know how crucial it is to help small businesses grow and thrive, and I commend Administrator Guzman for her partnership in assisting small businesses in Queens. Many have received support from the SBA, and I look forward to even more entrepreneurs in our communities taking advantage of all the great services that the agency has to offer. Helping local small businesses will always be a top priority of mine, and l will never stop fighting to ensure their success. Administrator Guzman is always welcome in my congressional district, and she has an open invitation to come back any time.”

"Queens is full of diverse entrepreneurs who provide crucial goods and services to their communities and make them vibrant places to live and work,” said Administrator Guzman. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SBA has increased lending to minority-owned small businesses, and we will keep working to level the playing field to ensure that entrepreneurs of all backgrounds have the capital and resources needed to start, grow and thrive."

Businesses that Meng and Guzman visited include HA Bakery in Flushing, New York Digital City in Flushing and Kafra’s Bakery in Jackson Heights.

The Small Business Development Center that Meng worked to create in 2019 provides a variety of services to help small businesses grow and flourish.

Meng also announced last year that she secured$1 million for the Queens Chamber of Commerce to launch a Legal Desk that connects Queens small businesses to consultants with expertise in human resources, finance, accounting and legal issues such as contracts and leases.