SBA Administrator Guzman Visits Las Vegas with Vice President Harris, Second Gentleman Emhoff

Visit highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s Small Business Boom, celebrated new SBA rule to increase economic opportunity for returning citizens ?

LAS VEGAS, NV – On Jan. 27, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman , head of the?U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) ?and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, traveled to Las Vegas with Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to inclusive economic empowerment and opportunity for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Upon arriving in Las Vegas, Administrator Guzman and Vice President Harris joined U.S. Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04) and Eric Morrissette, Interim Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), for a visit to The Chef Jeff Project. Founded by Chef Jeff Henderson, The Chef Jeff Project is a non-profit organization that teaches at-risk young people and those with prior involvement in the criminal justice system culinary and soft skills to help them secure employment.

At The Chef Jeff Project, the leaders discussed a forthcoming SBA rule that will remove restrictions on loan programs that currently prevent returning citizens, including those who are currently on parole and probation, from being eligible for loans. As part of that rule change, the SBA will also remove questions about criminal history from its loan applications. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, more Americans than ever are filing applications to start a new business , and this rule change will build on that historic momentum by providing a second chance to those seeking the American Dream of entrepreneurship.

Administrator Guzman then joined Second Gentleman Emhoff for visits to local Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander-owned small businesses, including World Wide Safety, Status Sparkling Wine, and Straight Up Café, to learn about the state of the AAPI-owned small business landscape under this Administration. The leaders heard from the small business owners about their entrepreneurial journeys and highlighted the Biden-Harris Administration’s Small Business Boom , which has seen 16 million new business applications filed since President Biden took office – including 185,000 in Nevada alone.