Last Friday, the United States Congress voted to pass a 6-bill spending package to partially fund the federal government for the 2024 fiscal year, including agriculture, transportation, housing, energy, and veterans. Both houses must still negotiate on a second, and larger, spending package which includes the military, homeland security and healthcare, ahead of the March 22 deadline.
While 2024 funding remains in the air, President Biden released his FY2025 budget request, following his State of the Union address last week in which he called the record 16 million Americans starting new businesses “a literal act of hope, with historic job growth and small-business growth for Black and Hispanics and Asian Americans.”
The budget itself contains proposals to invest in American manufacturing, clean jobs, and support for small businesses. We are particularly excited to see a request of $12.5 million for the SBA PRIME Grant Program, an increase of $4.5 million from the enacted FY2023 level of $8 million. This aligns with CAMEO’s appropriations request for FY2024.
CAMEO is working on our FY2025 appropriations request. We’ll advocate for keeping the 2024 funding levels or our previous requests. Some highlights include:
- $1 billion for the CDFI Fund (yes, we know it’s aspirational and want to address the need)
- $160 million for the Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)
- $30 million for the Women’s Business Centers (WBCs)
- $8 million for the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP)