Rep. Velazquez says Bush budget would hurt Hispanic small businesses

Proposed cuts to the Small Business Administration would unfairly hurt minorities and women trying to make a new start in business, Rep. Nydia Velazquez said Wednesday. Velazquez, the ranking Democrat on the House Small Business Committee, said the White House's budget offering for the fiscal year beginning in October would take away much-needed financial help for those hoping to launch a company. "This budget represents a disaster for Hispanic women who want to either start up or expand their businesses," the Brooklyn congresswoman said in her annual critique of the administration's proposed cuts to certain programs. Republicans disputed that charge, and praised the administration's approach, saying it made government work more efficiently. Velazquez argued cuts to such government programs and loans tend to have a greater impact on women and minorities because they tend to have less access to financing. As an example, she cited the administration's goal to stop funding the SBA's microloan program, which made 185 loans to New York entrepreneurs last year, for a total amount of $2.8 million. Another program, the Community Development Financial Institution, would also be eliminated under the proposed budget. That program, which directed some $11 million to New York last year, is supposed to provide greater credit and financial services in poor neighborhoods. [more]