Aumua and Small Business Subcommittee Hold Hearing on:

Issues Affecting Economic Growth in the Nation’s Rural Communities

Washington, D.C. –Friday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, and the House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax & Capital Access held a hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday entitled, Struggling to Grow: Assessing the Challenges for Small Businesses in Rural America. The purpose of the hearing was to examine hurdles facing rural small businesses and startups following the Great Recession, and figure out a “Better Way to Grow Our Economy”.

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“I would like to echo the most recent initiative set forth by GOP leadership in the recent weeks, which is that there is a Better Way to Grow Our Economy…A better way to ensure that all Americans, no matter where they live have the opportunity to make a better life for themselves. For too long now, over regulation from the federal government in Washington has stifled growth and opportunity in the rural areas of our great nation,” stated Amata. “Many of the SBA’s programs are not needed in major cities like New York and Los Angeles. However, they are desperately needed in the rural areas of our country, including the territories like my home district of American Samoa. It is past time for government to get out of the way of prosperity for our entrepreneurs, and begin to end these burdensome and often duplicative regulations that are prohibiting growth where it is needed most,” continued the Congresswoman.

One of the biggest concerns regarding the future of the United States is the economic vitality of rural communities. In fact, 72 percent of the United States’ land mass is considered rural, yet from 2010 to 2014, more Americans left non-metropolitan (rural) counties than ever before. In the past, job growth in the United States has come from small businesses; however in recent years, increasing federal regulations and a lack of sources for financial capital have created a business environment that disproportionally and negatively affects small businesses and startups in rural communities.

During the hearing, Hugh Middleton, a former Navy SEAL officer and co-founder of a small mobile technology company in Flowood, Mississippi testified before the committee stating, “Small businesses are the backbone of America. We create opportunity, generate jobs, invent new technology and keep the economy going. We do all of this while being over regulated, over taxed and under supported by the Federal Government.” Mr. Middleton’s statement echoed that of each witness who was invited to take part in the hearing.

The Congresswoman also stated her support for micro lending programs, like those administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration(SBA, which provides funds to specially designated intermediary lenders, who are nonprofit community-based organizations with experience in lending as well as management and technical assistance. These intermediaries administer the microloan program for eligible borrowers.

“Economic growth and development occurs in communities where people can live, work, and have access to investment capital. This is one of the biggest if not the biggest hurdle to economic development in the rural regions of our nation, and is especially true in American Samoa.,” stated the Congresswoman. “I firmly believe that expanding these programs, with a renewed focus on our rural communities, would do a great deal in helping the people who live in those areas invest in themselves and their communities, leading to more prosperity for all,” concluded Amata.

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