Salazar Secures Funding for Small Businesses Alongside FIU

Representative Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL) announced the launch of the Business Growth and Acceleration Program (BizGap) alongside Florida International University (FIU).

Rep. Salazar, a member of the Small Business Committee, was able to secure $650,000 to “create jobs and grow small businesses in District 27” according to her press release.

Through the funding of the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Fiscal Year 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the BizGap program will provide “hyperlocal consulting and training to 1,000 or more businesses in the (27^th) district during 2024.

Rep. Salazar said that local businesses are the backbone of the Miami area.

“As a proud member of the Small Business Committee, I know that entrepreneurs and mom-and-pop shops are the backbone of Miami,” said Congresswoman Elvira Salazar. “Florida’s District 27 is home to more than 60,000 businesses — half of which are small businesses. I am proud to launch this program, which will provide coaching, training, and connectivity to small business resources so that more people can feel confident when starting and expanding their business in Miami.”

The Regional Director of the Florida Small Business Development Center (FSBDC) at FIU Brian Van Hook appreciated Elvira Salazar’s support.

“Florida SBDC at FIU appreciates the Congresswoman’s support to secure this funding to scale up the center’s successful BizGap program to FL-27,” said Brian Van Hook, Regional Director, FSBDC at FIU. “BizGap is focused on meeting small business owners where they are in the community and providing them with the guidance, resources and partnerships needed to start and grow their businesses. Our team is excited to get to work in FL-27 and also to partner with communities in the district as we ramp up BizGap in 2024.”

Recently, Salazar and Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D-FL) jointly reintroduced the Venezuela Emergency Relief, Democracy Assistance, and Development (VERDAD) Act.

Passed in 2019 and set to expire in 2023, the VERDAD Act, imposes sanctions against Dictator Nicolas Maduro’s regime and outlines US strategy toward supporting a democratic transition in Venezuela.

The Florida congresswoman said that Maduro’s history of denying free and fair elections is evidence of a need for the bill.

“Maduro is a tyrant who needs to go,” said Salazar via press release. Salazar continued, claiming her bill reauthorizing the VERDAD Act “will show the Venezuelan people that America is still on their side in the fight against socialism.”