(Washington, September 19) - Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) highlighted how Trump’s attacks on the American economy and draconian rule changes at the Small Business Administration (SBA) are hurting small manufacturers at a recent Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing titled, “Using the 504 Program to Build America’s Manufacturing Future.” Ranking Member Markey heard from Mr. David P. Raccio, Senior Vice President and Director of SBA Lending at CDC New England, and Ms. Hilda Kennedy, Founder and President of AmPac Business Capital, about how Congress can supercharge the economy by increasing loan limits for clean energy manufacturers, and how Trump’s SBA rule changes have impeded the growth of small businesses, especially minority-owned and immigrant-owned businesses.
President Trump’s sweeping attacks on immigrants are crushing the manufacturing workforce, impacting both small and large manufacturers. In addition, recent SBA rule changes bar small businesses with any amount of foreign investment, including small businesses partially owned by lawful immigrants, from getting an SBA loan, which breaks from a quarter century of bipartisan SBA policy.
“No matter how hard President Trump tries to hide the data, it is crystal clear that his policies are hurting small manufacturers,” said Ranking Member Markey. “Trump’s tariffs are pushing up manufacturing prices, agency rule changes are preventing small businesses from getting loans, and clean energy cuts are fueling America’s manufacturing decline. If President Trump is serious about growing American manufacturing, he would invest in our future, not burn it down.”
“The SBA 504 Loan Program is one of the most powerful tools we have to help small businesses grow, create jobs, and build generational wealth through entrepreneurship and commercial real estate ownership,” said Hilda Kennedy, Founder and President of AmPac Business Capital. “With thoughtful adjustments—modernizing 504 loan size limits for manufacturing, along with clean energy manufacturing, lifting caps on energy projects, supporting first-generation entrepreneurs and first-time commercial real estate buyers, removing unnecessary barriers for special purpose properties, and restoring practical citizenship eligibility, this program and the SBA will fulfill congressional intent.”
“The SBA 504 program is one of the most effective federal tools for supporting small businesses, creating jobs, and strengthening communities-without taxpayer subsidy,” said David P. Raccio, Senior Vice President and Director of SBA Lending at CDC New England. “By making targeted reforms—restoring reasonable citizenship rules, expanding access to energy, manufacturing, and community-based projects, modernizing occupancy and refinance standards—we can ensure the program continues to serve America’s entrepreneurs for decades to come.”
In July, Ranking Member Markey and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (NY-07) sent a letter to SBA decrying the restriction of 7(a) and 504 loan access for small businesses with certain immigrant owners and employees, including those with lawful immigration statuses. In July 2024, Ranking Member Markey announced SBA’s Green Lender Initiative with former SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman to support more clean energy investments in small businesses. Despite the importance of these investments in the manufacturing sector, the Trump administration ended the initiative, implemented a $16.5 million cap on 504 clean energy loans, and rolled back clean energy incentives.
