On Thursday, August 25, 2016, Senator David Vitter (R-La.), Chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, will host Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), in Baton Rouge, La. to see first-hand the recent flood damage due to unprecedented storms in south Louisiana. They will also visit local business recovery centers and meet with local officials, small business owners, and homeowners. The Senate Small Business Committee has jurisdiction over the SBA.

The SBA provides disaster assistance to homeowners, businesses and not-for-profit organizations in the form of loans for working capital and physical damage.

In 2015, Chairman Vitter worked to pass the RISE After Disaster Act into law, which makes it easier for individuals and businesses affected by a disaster to receive loans from the SBA to recover and rebuild. It also requires the SBA to identify, in advance, locations in every county or parish suitable for use as recovery centers by the SBA. In response to the catastrophic flooding in Louisiana, Vitter has pushed FEMA and the SBA to quickly open recovery centers, and has also requested the SBA to provide a list of identified recovery center locations for each Louisiana parish.

The complete schedule for Chairman Vitter and Administrator Contreras-Sweet will be publicly released in the coming days.

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