Olympia Snowe: “Today I filed an amendment that will reform the Small Business Administration's, SBA, historically underutilized…”

“Today I filed an amendment that will reform the Small Business Administration's, SBA, historically underutilized business zone, HUBZone, program. As ranking member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, one of my top priorities is to champion our Nation's small businesses and to promote their needs and concerns. My amendment capitalizes on and enhances the HUBZone program, which helps to bring small businesses to distressed regions across our country. The HUBZone program stimulates economic development and creates jobs in urban and rural communities by providing Federal contracting preferences to small businesses. The SBA's most recent data shows the Federal Government met only 2.1 percent of its statutory 3 percent HUBZone agency-wide 'goaling' requirement. HUBZone small businesses represent only $7.2 billion of the total $340 billion allocated toward small businesses in fiscal year 2006. My amendment would expand the reach of the HUBZone program.”