LOS ANGELES — As President Joe Biden leans into pitching voters on economic progress made under his watch ahead of the 2024 election, Vice President Kamala Harris is on a mission to highlight how small businesses have fared under “Bidenomics.”
In a visit to salad restaurant Alfalfa on Santa Monica’s Main Street, Harris, alongside Small Business Administration head Isabella Casillas Guzman and Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., touted the White House’s moves to fortify the Community Advantage Program, an Obama-era lending program aimed at helping entrepreneurs struggling to secure capital for their businesses.
Established in 2011, the Community Advantage Program was designed to increase loan access specifically for low-income, underserved business owners through mostly nonprofit, approved lenders. The program was extended into 2023 and expanded under the Biden administration, which boosted loan maximums to $350,000, up from $250,000, and provided a pathway for more financial institutions to become SBA lenders.
