WASHINGTON – Today, with one day remaining until the government funding deadline, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine issued the following statement on the need to fund the government and the consequences for Virginia’s small businesses:

“Small businesses are the backbone of our communities and economy, and many of these businesses rely on support from the Small Business Administration to operate. Every day the government is shut down, critical access to capital provided by the Small Business Administration will be delayed, forcing Virginia small businesses who rely on this funding to make tough decisions about how they’re going to continue to stay open. The only reason we’re in this position is because of a small but loud group of members in the House who are refusing to fund the government if they don’t get everything they want. We remain committed to working in a bipartisan way to fund the government as quickly as possible.”

A government shutdown prevents the Small Business Administration (SBA) from approving new small business loans or modifying existing loans through the 7(a) and 504 programs. It is estimated that an average of $2,122,200 in financing for Virginia small businesses will be delayed every day the government is shut down. So far this year, the SBA has approved 955 loans with a total value of over $488 million to Virginia businesses through the 7(a) program.

A recent Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Voices Survey found that 91% of small business owners say it’s important for the federal government to avert a shutdown. 70% of small business owners said their business would be negatively impacted. Among that 70%, 93% believe their revenue would take a hit if the government shuts down, and 67% believe their customer demand would go down due to economic uncertainty and instability.

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