Sandy Springs, GA – Today, Representative Lucy McBath (GA-06) hosted experts and residents of Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District for a Small Business Resources webinar. Over one hundred business owners and managers attended and heard presentations from experts from small business development organizations across the state, and were encouraged to ask their questions to the panelists. McBath is a cosponsor of bipartisan legislation to replenish and expand both the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Impact Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs.

“Today’s event was an important time to hear from our local business community and the options they have for the funding they deeply need,” said McBath. “Small businesses are so vital to our nation, and there isn’t one in Georgia or across America that hasn’t been impacted by this pandemic. I would like to thank all the attendees for their questions and the experts for volunteering their time to provide on-the-ground updates while things are rapidly changing — we must all work together to help small businesses.”

Experts included Drew Tonsmeire, Area Director for the Georgia Small Business Development Center at Kennesaw State University; Donna Ennis, Project Director for the Atlanta MBDA Business & Advanced Manufacturing Centers at Georgia Tech, a division of the Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA); Jennifer Pasley, Managing Partner of Sky Capital Ventures, LLC; and Tony Christopher, President/CEO of the Georgia Certified Development Corporation.

McBath is a cosponsor of the Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act, bipartisan legislation to significantly expand the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program and help every qualified small business access the assistance they need to retain their workforce and cover basic operating costs for the full duration of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Paycheck Protection Program Extension Act:

• Ensures support for small businesses continues through the duration of the pandemic.
• Creates an extension mechanism that puts little to no burden on small business owners while protecting taxpayer interests by establishing clear, commonsense limitations.
• Defers repayment of any remaining loan balance for the duration of the pandemic.
• Provides adequate funding to effectively mitigate the economic impacts of the pandemic on small businesses.

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