FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 23, 2021

Contact: 

Maddy McDaniel, Communications Director

maddy@investinamericanow.com or 914-471-7716

Survey of Small Business Owners, Letter From 300+ Small Business Advocates Show Bipartisan Support for American Rescue Plan

New National Survey of Over 1,200 Small Business Owners: Majority of Small Business Owners Want Robust Economic Relief — Even If Republican Lawmakers Fail To Come On Board; 69% Support the American Rescue Plan

Nearly 330 Small Business Owners and Leaders -- Including Representatives From 30 Chambers of Commerce — Sign Letter Urging Bold Action On The American Rescue Plan

At Least 400,000 Small Businesses Have Permanently Closed; Small Business Revenue is Down 33.1%Nationally

WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Invest in America and Small Business for America’s Future unveiled two products showing the strong support the small business community has for the American Rescue Plan, including:

• A new survey of more than 1,200 small business owners showing bipartisan support for more Covid relief.
• A letter from nearly 330 small business leaders and advocates calling for urgent aid to small businesses as part of the American Rescue Plan, with signers including nearly 30 representatives from chambers of commerce around the country. 

The American Rescue Plan includes $15 billion in grants to keep small businesses afloat during this difficult time, and leverages $35 billion for small businesses financing programs. Yesterday, President Joe Biden announced protections to ensure the smallest businesses don’t get crowded out by larger firms as was the issue in the previous aid packages.

“Small businesses have been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis,” said Zac Petkanas, senior advisor at Invest in America. “The only way for the US economy to recover is by making significant public investments to boost the small business community and help them keep Americans on the job. The American Rescue Plan will do that.”

“Small business owners support the American Rescue plan because they know it will provide the relief they need to help them navigate the economic fallout of the pandemic and rebuild,” said Rhett Buttle, senior advisor at Small Business for America’s Future. “Small businesses employ nearly half of all Americans and create economic activity in every community across the country, and we all have a stake in keeping them strong. This legislation does that.” 

NEW SBAF SURVEY: 

Invest in America commissioned Small Business for America’s Future to release a new survey of more than 1,200 small business owners, showing strong bipartisan support for the American Rescue Plan. View the full survey here.Key findings include:

69% of business owners — including 46% of Republican business owners and 61% of Independent small business owners — support the American Rescue Plan.

• A majority of small business owners said that Democrats in Congress should pass a larger relief bill as soon as possible, even if it doesn’t have support from Republicans in Congress — including 52% of Independents and 23% of Republicans.
• Small business owners want Congress to prioritize economic relief over deficit reduction.
• More than one-third of small business owners (35%)—including 51% of Black and 42% of Latinx business owners—say their business would only be able to operate for a few more months without additional relief.

LETTER FROM SMALL BUSINESS ADVOCATES: 

Over 300 small business leaders and advocates signed a letter discussing the importance of small business aid as part of the American Rescue Plan, including nearly 30 representatives from chambers of commerce across the country. Read the letter below, and view its signers here. 

“Small businesses are the backbone of the nation’s economy, and an integral part of America’s communities. We account for almost half of the country’s economic activity, two-thirds of new jobs, and employ more than half of all Americans.

Unfortunately, the economic crisis created by the pandemic has ravaged the small business community, leaving at least 400,000 businesses permanently closed and millions more struggling to hold on. Nationally, small business revenue is down 30.5%, and paid employment at firms with less than 500 employees declined 18% in the first 4 months of 2020. Nearly 1 in 5 small businesses that were open in January of 2020 have stopped transactions entirely, and many of them will likely be forced to close permanently. Meanwhile, large employers recovered faster than smaller employers between July and September of 2020. 

The small business crisis is particularly acute amongst minority-owned and women-owned businesses. In fact, 32% of Latinx, 29% of Black and 25% of Asian-American and Pacific Islander business owners report they must temporarily shut their doors in the next three months. Women are more likely to own businesses in industries hit hardest by Covid, and past relief efforts haven’t been enough to keep them going.

That’s why we need President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan. The legislation provides $15 billion in grants to more than 1 million of the hardest-hit small businesses to get them back on their feet. It also leverages $35 billion for small businesses financing programs, which can generate as much as $175 billion in venture capital and low-interest loans to provide critical access to capital for businesses and entrepreneurs in need. 

Main Streets across the country need this lifeline — and they need it now. It’s the only way to prevent more businesses from closing and to keep millions of Americans on the job.

The American Rescue Plan meets the urgency of the moment and takes the steps necessary to save small businesses struggling during these difficult times.”

Small business owners and leaders are available for interviews. To get in touch, please contact maddy@investinamericanow.com

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About Small Business for America’s Future

Small Business for America’s Future is a national coalition of small business owners and leaders working to provide small businesses a voice at every level of government. We’re committed to ensuring policymakers prioritize the nation’s 30 million small businesses to create an economy that works for them, their workers and their communities. Visit www.smallbusinessforamericasfuture.org. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. #SmallBizAF.

About Invest in America

Invest In America is a national rapid response operation advocating for robust public investment to rescue the economy from the COVID crisis and create prosperity for the future, and to fight back against fear-mongers who use deficit concerns as a scapegoat to starve American communities and businesses of resources. 

The operation consists of two components: Invest in America, the charitable and public education arm, which is a fiscally sponsored project of Economic Security Project funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Economic Security Project co-chair Chris Hughes; and Invest in America Action, the advocacy and social welfare arm, which is a fiscally sponsored project of Economic Security Project Action funded by Chris Hughes and the Omidyar Network. 

Learn more at InvestInAmericaNow.com and @InvestNowUSA, and InvestinAmericaProject.com.