White House announces new actions to support small business: ‘Shop small today’

The Biden administration unveiled new actions Saturday intended to increase support for small businesses.

In a post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the administration listed three top actions.

First, the White House will invest $50 million of American Rescue Plan funds in over 10,000 small businesses. The administration will also issue $50 billion worth of small business loans this year, including large increases for “underserved businesses.”

Finally, the administration announced a a new focus on “strengthening” of partnerships “to invest in and support rural businesses.”

The post was part of a larger White House thread celebrating “Small Business Saturday.” 

“On Small Business Saturday, the Biden-Harris Administration celebrates the hardworking Americans who run our small businesses and keep our economy moving,” the administration wrote on X. “We’re committed to helping them grow and succeed.”

In its thread, the White House also boasted about a “[r]ecord 14.6 million applications” that have been “filed to start businesses” under the Biden administration. The post also lauded the “[f]astest growth in Black business ownership in over 30 years.”

“Small businesses are more than just the engines of our economy,” President Biden wrote on X. “They’re the glue that hold our communities together. Shop small today, folks.”

The president spent time Saturday walking through Nantucket, Mass., and was seen going into several small shops alongside first lady Jill Biden, according to White House pool notes.

Back in August, Vice President Harris announced that the administration would invest $125 million to help small businesses in underserved communities. The investment was planned to go to 43 small business accelerators that support entrepreneurs in underserved communities.

“As Bidenomics continues to demonstrate, when we invest in the dreams, the ambitions of small business owners and entrepreneurs, it creates opportunity and prosperity for us all,” Harris said during remarks in Washington, D.C., at the time.

On Saturday, Harris said the last two years have been “the greatest for small business.”

“On Small Business Saturday and throughout the holidays, be sure to shop local and support the backbone of our communities,” she wrote on X. “When our small business owners succeed, America succeeds.”