Norton Holds Hearing on Federal Government's Role in Small Business Recovery from Disaster (9/11/08)

Norton Holds Hearings on Federal Government's Role in Small Business Recovery from Disaster

September 11, 2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. - In the midst of the current hurricane season, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), chair, Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, will hold a hearing on "The Role of Federal Government in Small Business Disaster Recovery," to discuss the Federal Emergency Administration's (FEMA) and Small Business Administration's (SBA) programs that assist small businesses recovering from a disaster. The hearing will be held tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 12, 10 a.m., rm. 2167, RHOB, with testimony from Herbert Mitchell, Assistant Administrator, Office of Disaster Assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration; and Marko Bourne, FEMA Director of Policy and Program Analysis.

At the hearing, federal authorities will discuss how the federal government relates to small businesses during disasters, and what is currently available from FEMA and SBA. In Iowa, for instance, SBA has announced that it has approved $153 million in disaster loans to Iowa homeowners, renters, and businesses damaged by floods in spring 2008.