During a House Small Business Committee hearing last week, Rep. George Latimer (D-NY) asked SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler whether the agency will have a dedicated website for providing information regarding President Trump's tariff policies.
00:00Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Madam Administrator. I want to report back to the businesses in my communities, which I stay in close contact with some of these information. It is correct that you have closed the New York City SBA office in Federal Plaza. Is that correct?
00:30Congressman, we are working on moving offices out of sanctuary cities.
00:38I'm asking, did you close the office? Is it still open or is it closed at this moment in time?
00:43I believe it's still open.
00:43It's still open. I'll note that Federal Plaza is where Federal Courthouse is, where we have New York Police Department headquarters and other government organizations right in the Wall Street area, very safe, secure area and easily accessible by mass transit.
01:00Are we continuing to operate, just for nearby purposes, the Bridgeport, Connecticut office, or do we intend to close that?
01:08I can get you a list of the offices that we currently have open. I believe we still have it.
01:12And we have our small business development centers as well across the New York and Connecticut area.
01:18And what about Newark, New Jersey? Is that office open, closed, planned to be closed?
01:23Like I said, I can get you the full list. Right now, I believe they're operating.
01:28All right, I will share that with the folks that we have.
01:30I've indicated that the offices that we are closing had no staff.
01:32What is the head count expected of the Long Island office that will replace the New York City office?
01:39Well, certainly we want to optimize our field to ensure that small businesses are being served.
01:43We think that sometimes for small businesses to approach a federal building can be intimidating and not as accessible, and particularly when they're in sanctioning cities.
01:50I don't mean to be rude, but I just wanted a specific number. You don't have that number at this stage.
01:54Yeah, we're developing it.
01:55All right, okay. So I'll report that. We don't know how many people will be in the Long Island office replacing that, which is in the New York City office.
02:01We'll have sufficient staff to meet the needs of small businesses.
02:03When I went on to your website, I did not see any specific information regarding tariffs, and that is the single most asked question that I get from small businesses.
02:13What are the tariffs? What's the percentages?
02:15Do you intend to have a distinct page on small business website that a business can go to to look at and see what the tariff policies are?
02:25Congressman, on our homepage, we have our onshoring portal that allows small businesses to access resources
02:31that can direct them to onshore suppliers to strengthen their supply chains and ensure that they aren't independent.
02:36But you don't have specific information that when a business is trying to price its product or service,
02:41it needs to know certain specific information, and it needs to know exactly what the tariffs are for the particular country,
02:48for the particular product. Just yesterday, there was an announcement that steel and aluminum may be going from 25 percent up to 50 percent.
02:54We don't know if that's true. There may be a deal that comes down tomorrow or maybe not with a company.
02:58And I want to be able to direct someone, and so either you do or you won't have that in the Small Business Administration website.
03:05Do I assume that that is not the case? You're going to refer them to some other location for that information?
03:11The tariff conversations are ongoing, and the President has implemented 10 percent reciprocal tariffs in the meantime.
03:17And the administration will continue to ensure that the information is there now.
03:19All right, we'll try to find the information I can, and I'll share it.
03:21Should I inform the small businesses in my area that the organization is going to cease
03:28all efforts for women, minority, and disabled-owned businesses, the initiatives that have existed in the past,
03:35given the policies toward inclusion, diversity, and equity?
03:38That's incorrect, Congressman.
03:40We're streamlining and unifying our services to ensure that there's not confusion
03:45and too much bureaucracy for small businesses to deal with.
03:49Does that mean there will continue to be programs for women, minority, and disabled organizations?
03:52Our services are available to all who qualify.
03:55We don't pick winners and losers.
03:57Well, no one's asking you to pick it, but there have been specific initiatives.
04:00I'm not meaning to be contentious, but there's been specific initiatives
04:03to assist those who are women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses, and disabled-owned businesses.
04:08And those initiatives which assist people in those categories,
04:12are they going to be continued or are they going to end?
04:14We continue our compliance with statutory requirements for small business contracting.
04:19That doesn't sound like a firm commitment, but I appreciate your answers.
