Today, Congressman Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02) welcomed Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to the Tubman Museum in Macon, Georgia, for a roundtable with community and business leaders to discuss the impact of SBA’s ongoing COVID-19 small business relief efforts, including the American Rescue Plan (ARP).
“Businesses are still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Congressman Bishop. “Through the ARP — a major commitment by the Biden Administration — along with the COVID relief bills passed last year, the SBA has been aiding the business community on the road to recovery. The programs we discussed today have been vital to our community’s entrepreneurs. I want to thank Administrator Guzman for visiting our community to see how critical SBA programs have been in sustaining local businesses and how important it is for us to continue to feel that support. We also had a productive discussion with the Administrator about how the SBA can be more responsive to our local businesses that apply for SBA programs.”
Over the past year, businesses in our area and across Georgia received help from the SBA through:
- Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): 416,058 loans for more than $11 billion through the Paycheck Protection Program. This includes 2,200 PPP loans that were approved and which helped save at least 27,000 jobs in Macon-Bibb County. These loans provided between $180.9 million and $345 million in assistance.
- Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL): The SBA approved 186,343 loans to Georgia businesses totaling over $8.6 billion.
- Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF): There were 2,796 grants awarded totaling over $600 million.
- Shuttered Venue Operator Grants (SVOG): The SBA provided 26 Georgia businesses awards totaling over $5.5 million dollars.
Original source can be found here.
