Gonzalez Statement On Proposed SBA Budget

[Statement Of Congressman Charles Gonzalez (D-San Antonio)]

Washington, DC – In light of the President’s FY 2008 Small Business Administration budget proposals submitted earlier in the week, this morning the House Committee on Small Business is preparing to conduct a full committee review of the budget featuring testimony from SBA Administrator Steven Preston.

Congressman Charlie Gonzalez (D-TX), member of the Committee on Small Business and Chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulations, Healthcare, and Trade, issued the following statement on the budget proposals:

“The Small Business Administration budget proposals are yet another example of the Bush Administration’s misplaced priorities.  At a time when the small business community needs resources to help our local economies flourish, these budget proposals deny them the funding to do so.

“Equally troubling is the lack of attention to the needs of the Small Business Administration’s district office in San Antonio – an office that has been without a District Director for six months.  This vacancy is crippling economic growth and prosperity in San Antonio’s small business community by hindering the community’s ability to capitalize on future business opportunities.

“The proposed cuts to Small Business Administration’s budget deny key resources to a vital segment of our nation’s economy, and the misplaced priorities displayed in this budget will negatively impact our hardworking entrepreneurs and their families.”