Levin, Stabenow Hail Senate Appropriations Committee Approval of $200,000 for Flint’s VetBizCentral

Committee approves total of $600,000 for three veterans business resource centers

WASHINGTON – Senators Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., today hailed the approval in the Senate Appropriations Committee of an amendment to the Emergency Appropriations Supplemental bill to provide $600,000 for three veterans business resource centers, including one in Flint, that are close to being shuttered due to a lack of funding. The funding to the three centers would be distributed by the Small Business Administration, and VetBizCentral in Flint would receive $200,000. Levin, a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, worked with his committee colleagues to push for the funding.

“Veterans business centers in Flint, Boston and St. Louis have proven their worth and need this funding so they can continue their mission of helping veterans start and expand small businesses,” said Levin. “In Flint, the VetBizCenter provides essential services such as job fairs, mentoring, assistance with procuring state and federal contracts, and locating grants and loans. When veterans have sacrificed so much in defense of our country, this is the least we can do for them.”

“TheVetBizCentral in Flint is an invaluable resource for Michigan’s veterans, including those returning from tours in Iraq and Afghanistan,” said Stabenow. “Thankfully, this amendment will provide the crucial funding needed to keep this critical center open. From training programs to one-on-one business counseling, this center benefits not only our Michigan’s veterans, but our entire state. Our nation’s veterans have sacrificed so much for our country, and they deserve nothing less than our full support.”

Passed in 1999, the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Act established the National Veterans Business Development Corporation, known as the Veterans Corporation (TVC). As part of its mandate to “establish and maintain a network of information and assistance centers for use by veterans” the Veterans Corporation established business resource centers in Flint, Boston and St. Louis. While the Veterans Corporation has traditionally funded the veterans business resource centers, this year, the TVC severely decreased funding for the centers.

Levin worked with the chairman and ranking member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Senators John Kerry, D-Mass., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, respectively, and Senator Kit Bond, R-Mo., also a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, on the amendment passed by the Appropriations Committee today to restore funding to the three veterans business centers.