With the start of hurricane season officially upon us, it is more important than ever for residents and small businesses to remember that the best course of action to limit damage from natural disasters is preparing before the disaster hits. Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, the voice for America’s 32.5 million small businesses in President Biden’s Cabinet, underscored this critical point and the need for equity, mitigation, and preparedness efforts as part of the annual Hurricane Preparedness and Actions briefing for President Biden. During her tenure, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has been at the forefront of ensuring small businesses, nonprofits, as well as individual homeowners and renters impacted by natural disasters around the nation have the support and recovery relief that they need, and the tools to build resilience.

Natural disasters are not just more devastating; they are also coming faster, more frequently, and are often rapidly changing in their complexity and scope. In 2020, the United States suffered 22 separate billion-dollar disasters —the most in our history— but experts in the space expect that number to continue to climb. Fighting climate change and preparing America to adapt to its impacts has been and will remain a priority for the Biden-Harris Administration - and supporting that readiness is a critical component of the SBA’s work under Administrator Guzman.

That is why the SBA is ensuring its products and services are simple and flexible enough to meet small businesses where they are and help them prepare, manage and recover from the growing disaster threats, including pandemics, cybersecurity and increased natural disasters due to climate changes. 

The SBA’s Programs That Support Communities Impacted by Disasters Have Expanded and Scaled in the Face of New Challenges.

• In the past year, the SBA approved more than $2 billion to help residents and businesses across all 50 states and five territories recover from natural and other non-pandemic related physical disasters, including multiple hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, all of which have been rising in frequency and severity at significant physical, human, and economic costs.

With the COVID-19 pandemic impacting communities and economies across the globe, the SBA’s tireless civil servants were called upon to expand into new areas to help small businesses stay afloat. Two of the critical SBA programs funded in part by President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG), provided a lifeline to millions of small businesses across America.

• Through COVID EIDL, more than $378 billion was put directly into the hands of over 3.9 million entrepreneurs from our hardest-hit sectors. The COVID EIDL Advance Programs put an additional $7.6 billion, approximately, in grant funds. And the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant program helped save nearly 13,000 businesses in the arts industry, collectively awarding them more than $14.2 billion.  Additionally, over $800 billion was distributed through the Paycheck Protection Program and $28.6 billion through the Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
• As of June 1, 2022, SBA personnel are responding to two open Presidential disaster declarations, 10 SBA Administrative disaster declarations, six Governor’s certifications, 108 Secretary of Agriculture declarations, and one Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan declaration.

As the Anchors of Our Communities, Small Businesses Rely on Resilient Neighborhoods for their Customers and their Employees, and the SBA’s Disaster Relief Loan Programs Help Communities Recover Swiftly.

• Assisting with disaster recovery in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and the five U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the SBA’s disaster loan program is the only federal assistance program that provides private property owners an affordable way to mitigate disaster impacts and protect their homes, families, businesses, employees, and livelihoods against the next disaster. Funds received from SBA disaster loans can be used by property owners to build back better, stronger, and more resilient.

• SBA disaster loan funds can be used to cover insurance deductibles, refinance an existing mortgage, pay for mitigation and protective upgrades, relocate to a safer and lower risk area, and more. And low, fixed interest rates amortized over 30 years for low monthly payments offer an affordable way for property owners to fully repair/replace their disaster losses not covered by other recoveries.

 Additionally, borrowers using SBA’s physical disaster loan programs are also eligible for up to 20 percent of their total physical losses, as verified by SBA, to incorporate additional protective measures to mitigate future damage and losses against the next disaster.

 SBA also offers non-pandemic related economic injury disaster loans to help small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, and most private nonprofit organizations located in a declared disaster area rebuild after suffering a substantial loss.

 Preparation is key. By helping small businesses, homeowners, renters, and others shift their focus to preparedness, we can help reduce the impacts of future disasters. A few ways businesses can get ready for this year’s hurricane season:

 Establish a communications plan and subscribe to local emergency management alerts.

• Protect vital information in the cloud.
• Review insurance coverage, consider business interruption insurance, and take a video inventory of property and assets.
• Complete facilities and operations planning; consider e-commerce solutions or temporary alternative locations to resume operations quickly and evaluate supply chains.
• Engage in pre-disaster contract development opportunities.
• Practice and test your plan with managers and staff.
   

Supporting Mitigation, Equity, and Resiliency in an Age of Growing Disaster Threats.

As the SBA assesses the enormous impact of its COVID relief programs on saving millions of small businesses, the Agency is taking this opportunity to reimagine how it provides disaster assistance and how our nation’s needs may evolve in the face of these worsening disasters, including transforming how we do business and show up to deliver a positive customer experience to residents and small business owners in their time of need.

Through greater emphasis on business preparedness operations for our small businesses, equitable distribution of disaster funding and attention to recovery efforts in historically underserved communities, and by improving upon current partnerships while identifying new collaboration opportunities with on-the-ground organizations, the SBA is uniquely positioned to help our small businesses, homeowners, renters, and nonprofits weather any storm.

Small Business Resilience is Strengthened by SBA’s Core Small Business Programs.

Critical to building resilient communities and ensuring swift recovery is helping small businesses bolster their financial resources before a disaster strikes by taking advantage of the SBA’s various core programs. This means ensuring entrepreneurs have access to capital and standard lending programs, as well as assistance growing their revenues by getting their products online or into global markets and accessing federal contracting opportunities, often by connecting them to one of the Agency’s newly launched Community Navigators, hundreds of Field Offices, or thousands of Resource Partners - including Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE chapters and Veterans Business Ownership Centers - for mentoring, training, and assistance in navigating government resources.

Questions about disaster loans can be emailed to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov or directed to SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (7-1-1 for the deaf and hard of hearing). Information on SBA’s core lending programs, revenue growth opportunities and technical assistance can be found at SBA.gov.

McEachin Submits 15 Requests to the House Appropriations Committee

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) announced the Community Project Funding (CPF) requests that he submitted to the House Appropriations Committee for the Fiscal Year 2023 (FY2023) appropriations process.

“Our district experienced great success with last year’s Community Project Funding requests, and I was able to successfully secure over $19 million for Virginia’s Fourth. I am thrilled to announce the next round of submissions for the upcoming appropriations process,” said Rep. McEachin (VA-04). “These projects are important priorities for localities across our district and will make a meaningful, real impact in the lives of Virginians. While there is no guarantee that all the requests will be funded, I will be diligently fighting for these priorities and engaging with the House Appropriations Committee throughout the process. I look forward to advocating for our district in Washington and working to secure much-needed federal funding for these projects.”

Rep. McEachin submitted the following 15 requests to the committee, grouped by geographic location or recipient category:

The Greater Richmond Area

• City of Richmond’s Help1RVA to help further establish and scale Help1RVA, a one-stop shop for social services in Central Virginia, as the region’s primary social needs navigation service. Funding will support technology and staffing for YMCA to be the backbone of Help1RVA and allow the City of Richmond to hire an Information and Data Integration Consultant to align the program with existing technology.
• City of Richmond’s First North-South Bus Rapid Transit Line to kickstart Richmond’s efforts to create a North-South line of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), also known as the “Pulse.” This project would fund the planning, outreach, design, and construction of 1.9 miles of Richmond’s North-South line.
• Henrico County’s Central Gardens Rehabilitation to upgrade the Central Gardens building, a former Henrico County School, to be used as the headquarters for the Henrico Police Athletic League (HPAL), a nonprofit that provides safe and structured activities to the youth of Henrico County. The project would construct a new roof and HVAC system and install solar panels once deemed safe.
• Capital Region Airport Commission’s Richmond International Airport’s Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) Station to replace the existing station at Richmond Airport with a new facility that meets current FAA standards and is based on current and projected operational needs. The new ARFF Station will be in a safer location that will not require crossing taxiways to access it.
• Charles City County’s Construction of a New Water & Sewer Infrastructure to extend water and sewer infrastructure along Roxbury Road / State Route 106, bringing sewage generated along the Roxbury Corridor to the existing Roxbury Wastewater Plant, which will be expanded to accommodate additional flow.

Virginian Universities

• Virginia Commonwealth University’s Richmond Talent Pathway to enable VCU, in partnership with the City of Richmond, Richmond Public Schools, and the Central Virginia business community, to launch a new talent pathway to recruit, support, train, and retain diverse student populations in high-need career fields.
• Virginia Commonwealth University’s Community Health Workforce Continuum to develop a comprehensive workforce development model that leverages existing partnerships with Virginia’s community colleges, including their workforce development divisions, high schools, and regional career and technical education centers. This project will jumpstart initiatives to address the health care workforce shortage and persistent unemployment in communities served by the health system.
• Virginia Union University’s Center for Technology and Innovation to help connect students with local and national technology companies to improve learning opportunities and outcomes, accelerate economic growth, and strengthen the Commonwealth’s position as a leader in the science and technology industries while providing real-world, job-based training to strengthen the workforce.
• Virginia State University’s Broadband Improvement Project to help improve broadband access, reliability, and affordability on VSU’s campus by ensuring the university can deliver a stable and robust network.  

The Tri-Cities Area

• City of Petersburg’s Emergency Public Safety Communications System to upgrade the existing system to support and protect an economically depressed population, logistics, military, transportation, and growing pharmaceutical cluster that is critical to Virginia and the United States.
• City of Petersburg’s Lock’s Watermain Replacement to construct approximately 7,650 feet of twenty-inch ductile iron water main to replace the existing asbestos cement watermain, which has exceeded its useful life and has experienced substantial breakages. Lock’s Watermain is the sole supply of water to all residents and businesses in the City of Petersburg.
• City of Hopewell’s Courthouse Road Pedestrian Improvements to support the construction of Courthouse Road Pedestrian Improvements. This project will improve the safety and non-vehicular mobility along Courthouse Road by installing 5-footwide sidewalks, curb and gutter, underground storm drainage, and new ADA-complaint bus shelters to improve pedestrians’ access to bus access along Courthouse Road.
• Prince George County’s Roundabout at the Intersection of Jefferson Park Road and Middle Road to construct a one-land roundabout at the intersection of Rt. 630 and Rt. 646. This project would address congestion and safety at the intersection and provide an efficient, safe travel route for students, buses, and parents to the new 850 student elementary school near the intersection.

Southern Virginia Area

• City of Emporia’s Pedestrian Accommodation for US 58 to provide a safe path for pedestrians attempting to across US 58 to Purdy Road. This project would construct sidewalks along both sides of US 58 and install a push button pedestal to stop traffic and allow pedestrians to cross the highway safely.
• County of Greensville’s Mid-Atlantic Advance Manufacturing Center Collection System to bring sewer service to 1,600 acres of industrial zoned land, improving the marketability of the site and attracting industrial clients. The Mid-Atlantic Advance Manufacturing Center is a regionally developed site, and it is estimated that manufacturers would bring nearly 2,000 new high-wage jobs into Southern Virginia.

Last year, Members were allowed to submit up to ten requests, which Rep. McEachin successfully did, securing $19.1 million dollars in federal funding for Virginia’s Fourth Congressional District.

Updated guidance from the House Appropriations Committee for the FY2023 appropriations process allows Members to submit up to fifteen requests for consideration – although only a handful may be chosen for funding. Projects are restricted to a limited number of federal funding streams, and only state and local governments and eligible non-profit entities are permitted to receive funding

In compliance with House Rules and Committee requirements, Rep. McEachin has certified that he and his immediate family have no financial interest in any of the projects he has requested.

More information on Rep. McEachin's FY2023 Community Project Funding requests are available here.