The Biden Administration today announced the the Tribal State Small Business Credit Initiative awards, which are being given directly to tribal governments under the American Rescue Plan.
A total of $73 million will be allocated to 39 tribal governments to support tribal enterprises and small business owners. Fifteen of the awards were announced today.
The Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, approved for up to $2.9 million, will administer an equity/venture capital program. Through this initiative, the ICAS Economic Development Department will invest in tribally owned small businesses.
Similarly, Ninilchik Village, approved for up to $689,038, will focus on an equity/venture capital program aimed at providing engineering services. Ninilchik Village Tribe has about 1,000 members, including American Indians who have settled there and been accepted into the tribe.
The 2023 SSBCI awards represent a substantial increase from the program’s original allocation in 2010, with President Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which has driven the national debt to over $32 trillion, contributing more than six times the previous funding amount.
The reauthorization and expansion of the SSBCI program under the American Rescue Plan are projected to benefit 100,000 small businesses nationwide, facilitating the flow of tens of billions of dollars in new small business financing over the next decade, the White House said.
Now the Administration will go on tour to tout the awards. President Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, First Lady Jill Biden, and other administration leaders will travel across the country over three weeks, highlighting the administration’s spending on manufacturing, infrastructure, and cost-saving initiatives. It’s a campaign tour in thin disguise.
