U.S. Sen. David Vitter, Chairman of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, made the following statement regarding the passage of S. 999, the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Improvements Act, with bipartisan support through the Committee. The Committee also favorably reported 7 other bills to the Senate floor.

“We need to make sure that America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs are aware of the great services that the SBA’s Small Business Development Centers program provides. That’s why I introduced this bill to promote their services and invaluable assistance, which will help grow small businesses and create jobs without imposing any more financial burdens on SBDCs, the SBA, or the taxpayer,” said Vitter.

The SBDC remains one of the nation’s largest small business assistance programs in the federal government, and Vitter’s bipartisan-supported legislation would 1) prohibit the Administration from funding new SBA-created initiatives that duplicate the work of SBDCs and other Congressionally authorized programs, and 2) enable SBDCs to help small businesses outside of their own states in cases of natural disasters or other emergencies.

This week’s business meeting marks the first the Committee has held since June 2013. Click here for more information.

Earlier this week, Vitter congratulated the Louisiana SBDC at Southeastern Louisiana University for winning its division for 2015 National Small Business Week. Click here to read more.

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