Drive 10 minutes down Colfax Avenue in Aurora and you’ll pass a few of my family’s favorite take out spots in Mango House like Urban Burma and Golden Sky, as well as a far longer list of others that my wife Deserai and I are always reminding each other we should try. If you go down near Cherry Creek State Park near our congressional office, you’ll be near Star of India, HiRa Cafe, El Tequileño and of course, I’d be remiss to not include my kid’s favorite spots such as Comida and Carm & Gia Metropolitan near Central Park.
But amazing restaurants aren’t the only bragging rights we have, we also are home to hundreds of small businesses. As Sentinel Colorado recently noted, “Aurora, in particular, is a hotspot for small business owners. Leaders say that’s because of its diverse community. Around 20% of residents are foreign born and more likely to start their own businesses.”
But today those small businesses are facing an existential threat as the COVID-19 pandemic continues raging through our community, slowing foot traffic to a halt and forcing owners to make impossible decisions about their health and their finances. This isn’t just a matter of “opening up,” this is a matter of making sure we are taking this public health crisis seriously so people have the confidence to go to stores without fearing for their health. With 300,414 cases in Colorado, right now a return to normalcy simply isn’t possible.
In Congress, I’m fighting to make sure our small businesses are getting the support they need. First and foremost, that means a COVID relief deal that provides billions in much-needed support to help small businesses retain their workers and keep their doors open, but I’m also taking steps to make sure our businesses are able to rebuild and come back stronger.
Earlier this month, I introduced the Next Generation Entrepreneur Corps Act to spur new business and job creation in underserved communities by starting a competitive fellowship for entrepreneurs. With a five-year investment of $368 million, the bill will identify talented entrepreneurs through a national competition and directly support the creation of more than 320 new businesses each year. This bipartisan bill would ensure we are supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs and fostering growth in our hardest hit communities at the same time.
I’m also calling on Congress to pass the RESTAURANTS Act, a bipartisan bill, that would establish a $120 billion restaurant stabilization grant program designed to help independent restaurants deal with the long-term structural challenges facing the industry due to COVID-19 and ensure they can re-employ workers and stay in business. Our family run and independent restaurants are essential for our economy and our community, and the RESTAURANTS Act would provide critical relief.
As any small business owner will tell you, it’s not enough to pass relief and then have it be tied up in red tape, we need to also cut regulatory red tape because time is of the essence. My bill, the Increasing Access to Capital Act, would actually work to expand and bolster the Small Business Administration (SBA) flagship loan program to include the Express Loan program which enables the SBA to approve borrowers for commercial loans in as little as 36 hours. This would make it easier for small businesses to get the loans they need and speed up the process as well as waive fees for certain types of loans.
There is no shortage of work that needs to be done to protect our small businesses. As a member of the Small Business Committee, I am grateful to have the opportunity to work directly to support our small businesses . With over 1 million Coloradans employed by small businesses, small businesses are the backbone of our economy. If we don’t get these businesses the help they need, many of them won’t survive. Without the restaurants, shops, and small businesses that make our community a special place to live, we risk ending this pandemic with a drastically different community and economy than when we started.
The time for action and leadership is now.