(Washington, DC) — Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-Md.) today issued the following statement after President-elect Joe Biden announced that he will nominate Isabel Guzman as U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator:

“I welcome Isabel Guzman’s nomination to lead SBA as it continues to play a vital role in the federal effort to support small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As our communities and economy struggle to recover from the pandemic, SBA’s loan programs must be catalysts for small business growth, just as they were following the 2008 financial crisis. SBA must also ensure equity in its programs, especially its loan programs, so entrepreneurs in underserved and underbanked communities are not left behind during the recovery.

“I look forward to meeting Isabel Guzman to hear more about how her prior experience has helped prepare her to lead SBA. I am particularly interested in her opinions on what more SBA can do to support small businesses through the pandemic, as well as how she intends to use all the tools in SBA’s toolkit to invest in small businesses and jumpstart the economic recovery.”