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The Small Business Administration visited Baltimore on Thursday and met with local leaders and business owners affected by last week’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse.
Speaking after a roundtable at one of the agency’s two recovery centers near the Port of Baltimore, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzmán said business owners are dealing with “the full range of impacts” from last week’s collapse. He said major ground transportation routes had been abolished and transportation facilities had been shut down. From the Port of Baltimore to maritime traffic. Six construction workers were killed.
Guzman said businesses facing economic ramifications from the collapse, including businesses that are “100% reliant” on maritime traffic to the Key Bridge and the Port of Baltimore, and restaurants serving longshoremen. He said that he heard from.
“Obviously, there is growing concern and uncertainty about whether we can maintain this closure,” Guzman said.
Guzman was joined by other federal and local leaders in a closed media roundtable. At a subsequent press conference, Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin said some of the stories he heard from business owners were “heartbreaking.”
“We know about every container that goes through the Port of Baltimore,” Cardin, a Democrat, said. “We don’t realize how many small businesses will be affected if these containers don’t come in.”
The recovery center Guzman spoke of, at 1501 S. Clinton St. in Canton, is surrounded by retail stores on one side and businesses transporting goods from the port on the other. A few miles to the southeast is the port, and beyond that is a 1.6-mile stretch of Interstate 695, where maritime traffic has been blocked from entering the port since March 26, disrupting the flow of goods. It is being
Another recovery center location in Baltimore County was slated to move from its current location at 11 Center Place in Dundalk to Baltimore County Community College in Dundalk. Both will open Friday, but after that only his CCBC location at 7200 Sollers Point Road will be open.
In an interview Thursday morning, Guzman said he wants to make sure he speaks with “different businesses” in Baltimore to understand the unique challenges resulting from the collapse. Earlier this week, the SBA opened two “recovery centers” near ports where affected businesses can apply for low-interest loans from the agency to overcome revenue losses caused by the disruption.
Small businesses and nonprofit organizations affected by last week’s bridge collapse can apply for loans of up to $2 million through the end of the year. Guzman said more than 500 applications had been received as of Thursday afternoon. According to the SBA, there is no initial payment deadline for approved loans and no interest will accrue during the first 12 months. The agency’s Economic Injury Disaster Loans are often available to specific areas affected by natural events such as droughts and tornadoes, but they also apply to businesses affected by mass shootings, factory explosions and road closures. Applied.
“These payments are not due in 12 months, so businesses can use this cash to maintain payroll, maintain overhead costs and remain viable,” Guzmán said at a Thursday press conference. .
The bridge disaster is an even more unique case for federal programs. Determining and assessing the full economic impact of the collapse is an “ongoing challenge,” Guzman said, noting that aftershocks from supply chain disruptions will be more pronounced in the long term. To remedy that, financial institutions have a “strong network on the ground,” including local agencies such as the Small Business Development Center, to adapt and assist businesses grappling with assessing the economic impact of the aftermath of a bankruptcy. She said she is trying to do so.
“We know there will be an immediate impact on supply chains and transportation logistics companies” as a result of the collapse, but “we know there will be ongoing regional impacts and It will be difficult to assess the impact until we find out which companies and logistics companies are the best.” Please cooperate with them. ”
Guzman, who was appointed SBA administrator by President Joe Biden in 2021, said the federal agency wants to reach out and provide assistance to businesses that are seeing revenue loss and disruption to their daily operations due to the collapse. Told. The SBA’s disaster declaration covers all of Maryland and counties in Washington, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. The Biden administration has already committed millions of dollars in federal funds to cleaning and rebuilding the bridge and plans to visit the site of the collapse on Friday.
Guzmán said businesses that applied for loans may not receive their funds for “several weeks” while the loans are underwritten and processed, adding that the government is offering a “high-touch, face-to-face, on-the-ground approach.” He pointed out that he was hiring. We help businesses complete the application process quickly.
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