Isabel Guzman, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) candidate for U.S. President Joe Biden, is sworn in during a Senate Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, Wednesday, February 3, 2021
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The Senate intends to confirm Isabel Guzman to run the large enterprise, leading it to help run Main Street beyond the damage caused by Covid-19.
Guzman is now director of the California Small Business Law Office. She oversaw the relief of small businesses for the country’s largest state during the pandemic.
She is now ready to make the effort nationwide as an SBA administrator at a time when small businesses have struggled to keep their doors open. Guzman will oversee the development of the Wage Protection Program and other aid initiatives, which have saved companies but been surrounded by inefficiency and waste.
“I have every confidence that, under Ms. Guzman’s leadership, the SBA will help small business owners keep their dreams alive until the economy returns,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said earlier Tuesday.
Since the adoption of the $ 2.2 trillion CARES Act last March, the agency has managed PPP, one of the largest pieces of aid money given by Congress. Since its inception, the program has provided forgiving loans worth approximately $ 687 billion, according to SBA data as of March 7. About $ 165 billion in loans came out this year.
The current window to request help expires at the end of the month. The bipartisan MPs in the House and Senate proposed a plan to extend the program for two months and grant the SBA another 30 days after that to go through the requests.
Despite unprecedented aid money, small businesses have struggled to stay afloat under economic constraints aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. A CNBC / SurveyMonkey survey for small businesses conducted in late January found that only 55% of homeowners believe their companies can continue to operate for more than a year under current conditions.
At last year’s Senate confirmation hearing, Guzman said she was “deeply committed to supporting our nation’s small businesses and entrepreneurs.”
“They are facing an unprecedented crisis and they need our support to survive,” she said.
Guzman added that he will work to improve equity in the distribution of aid to small businesses – a priority for the Biden administration. Critics of the initial phase of PPP loans last year said the government had not done enough to raise money for the smallest businesses and companies owned by women and men of color.
Guzman became director of the California Small Business Law Office in 2019. He served as deputy chief of staff to the SBA during President Barack Obama’s second term.
The Senate has confirmed 17 of the nominations for President Joe Biden’s Cabinet, most recently Deb Haaland as Home Secretary.
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