Mucarsel-Powell: “I Want Everyone To Have This Information At Their Fingertips”

Today, [March 25, 20202] U.S. Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (FL-26) launched a public information campaign to inform and urge small to medium-sized business owners affected by COVID-19 to apply for emergency aid. Mucarsel-Powell launched a webpage where all the relevant information for business owners will be available at peoples’ fingertips, will host weekly virtual events to update local business owners, and will coordinate with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and Florida International University’s (FIU) Small Business Development Center (SBDC), who will be hosting webinars and information sessions for applicants. Visit the website here.

“After working hard in Washington to approve funds to alleviate the financial strain facing entrepreneurs and business owners as a result of COVID-19, I now want to make sure our local businesses know how to access these benefits. That’s why I am launching this important outreach and information effort called “Coronavirus Small & Medium Business Recovery” to ensure that South Florida local business owners and entrepreneurs have all the information necessary to apply and receive federal emergency aid,” said Murcarsel-Powell. “Small to mid-sized businesses and entrepreneurs are critical to our local economy and they are feeling the negative consequences of this crisis.”

Mucarsel-Powell announced the Small and Medium Business Recovery campaign at a press conference this afternoon with Victoria Guerrero, District Director for the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). A link to the livestream can be found here or by clicking the photo below.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Mucarsel-Powell has consistently called for more assistance to small and mid-sized businesses to be used to keep employees on staff and to meet basic needs that will keep operations open. She has been pushing to decrease or eliminate small business loan interests, expand eligibility for these loans, and defer loan payments for the duration of this crisis.

Mucarsel-Powell voted for The Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020, which strengthen our public health response, expand access to testing, provide relief to workers and families hit hard by the pandemic, and assists small businesses struggling with the fallout of COVID-19. Among other important provisions, these bills allow for an estimated $7 billion in low-interest loans to South Florida small businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, which are being administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).