Yesterday, Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-31) hosted a roundtable discussion with U.S. Small Business Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet and Inland Empire lending partners to highlight opportunities for local businesses and startups to grow their workforce and increase access to credit and capital in San Bernardino County. Rep. Aguilar invited the Administrator to the Inland Empire for the event, which was held at the Inland Empire Economic Partnership.

“I’m glad the Administrator could join us for such an important event. I look forward to working with our local business owners and the Small Business Administration to ensure better communication between the local and national levels so Inland Empire business owners have the resources they need to expand their workforce and grow their business,” said Rep. Aguilar.

“At the SBA, we are making the agency’s initials stand for smart, bold, and accessible, through programs like Startup In A Day, which challenges local cities to streamline their small business permitting process and take it online; and through (STEP) the State Trade and Export Promotion program, which helps entrepreneurs take bolder steps into international markets, we are living up to those words,” said Administrator Contreras-Sweet. “By making our services accessible to all communities and investing in our underserved small businesses, they are able to create jobs and opportunities that are lifting up the Inland Empire, all of California and our country.”

The Small Business Administration (SBA) empowers small businesses throughout the nation to grow and expand by helping them increase capital, facilitate contracting, and provide counseling to entrepreneurs and business owners. Last year alone, the SBA supported or assisted with more than $127 million in loans throughout California’s 31^st Congressional District. Rep. Aguilar invited the SBA Administrator to the Inland Empire to highlight different opportunities for local business owners to improve access to credit and capital, and to ultimately grow their businesses. Ricardo Robles of Anita’s Mexican Foods in San Bernardino also attended the event. Anita’s Mexican Foods received more than $9 million in loans facilitated by the SBA.

Since taking office in January, Rep. Aguilar has taken a number of steps to support small business owners. After releasing his Jobs Plan in April of this year, Rep. Aguilar introduced two bills to empower Inland Empire businesses to expand their workforce. The On-the-Job Training Tax Credit Act of 2015 and the Small Business Jobs Act of 2015 both provide tax credits to business owners, encouraging them to grow their workforce and increase business throughout San Bernardino County.

 

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