Isabel Guzman, Administrator of the US Small Business Administration (SBA) nominee for US President Joe Biden, was sworn in at a confirmation hearing before the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, February 3, 2021.
Bill Leary | Bloomberg | Getty images
The Senate plans to confirm Isabel Guzman as head of the Small Business Administration on Tuesday, and put her in charge of getting Main Street past the damage done by Covid-19.
Guzman is now a director of the Office of the Small Business Advocate in California. She oversaw small business relief efforts for the largest state in the country during the pandemic.
Now she will strive across the country as an SBA administrator at a time when small businesses are struggling to keep their doors open. Guzman will oversee the rollout of the Paycheck Protection Program and other relief initiatives that have saved businesses but are saddled with inefficiency and waste.
“I am confident that under Ms. Guzman’s leadership, the SBA will help small business owners hold onto their dreams until the economy returns,” Senate leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., said earlier Tuesday.
Since the $ 2.2 trillion CARES bill passed in March last year, the agency has managed the PPP, one of the largest chunks of aid money approved by Congress. Since inception, the program has provided approximately $ 687 billion in forgiven loans through March 7, according to SBA data. About $ 165 billion in loans has been issued this year.
The current window to apply for support expires at the end of the month. Bipartisan lawmakers in the House and Senate have proposed a plan to extend the program for two months and then give the SBA an additional 30 days to consider applications.
Despite unprecedented aid money, small businesses are struggling to survive economic constraints designed to slow the spread of the virus. A CNBC / SurveyMonkey survey for small businesses conducted in late January found that only 55% of owners believe their business can continue to operate for more than a year under current conditions.
During her Senate hearing last month, Guzman said she is “deeply committed to supporting our country’s small businesses and entrepreneurs.”
“They are facing an unprecedented crisis and need our support to survive,” she said.
Guzman added that she would work to increase equity when distributing aid for small businesses – a priority for Biden’s administration. Critics of the early stages of PPP loans last year said the government was not doing enough to raise money for the smallest businesses and those owned by women and people of color.
Guzman became a director of California’s Office of the Small Business Advocate in 2019. During President Barack Obama’s second term, she was the deputy chief of staff at the SBA.
The Senate has confirmed 17 of President Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees, most recently Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior.
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