{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://case.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=823", "Case Secures Millions Of Federal Funding To Help Hawai\u2018i Small Businesses and Tourism", "2022-03-23", "2022", "2022-03", "Democrat", "House", "HI", "Ed Case", "C001055", "case.house.gov", "case", "https://case.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27&Page=20", "scraper", "(Washington, DC) \u2013 Congressman Ed Case (HI-01), a member of the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for all federal discretionary spending, today announced millions in funding and other actions he sought and secured to strengthen Hawai\u2018i\u2019s economy as part of the current 2022 fiscal year (FY) funding bill. H.R. 2471, the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2022, passed Congress earlier this month and was signed into law by the President last week.\n\n\u201cThis measure will help strengthen our top-generating tourism sector, promote small business development and assist in economic diversification as our state\u2019s economy continues to recover from the effects of COVID-19,\u201d said Case.\n\n\u201cMy Committee\u2019s bill also continues critical federal contracting opportunities that help Native Hawaiian and other minority entrepreneurs throughout our state.\u201d\n\nSupport for Small Businesses\n\n\u201cHawaii\u2019s small businesses are the lifeblood of our state,\u201d explained Case. \u201cWhile the average small business in Hawai\u2018i employs just 12 people, as a whole, Hawaii\u2019s small businesses still employ a majority of our workforce. My Committee\u2019s effort to expand federal assistance to small businesses will advance this backbone of our state\u2019s economy.\u201d\n\nKey small business provisions in the legislation requested, secured and supported by Case include:\n\n$975,000 for digital skills literacy training at the State of Hawai\u2018i Workforce Development Council, which will strengthen the labor pool for businesses throughout Hawai\u2018i.\n\n$500,000 for the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture Small Business Incubator Project at Leeward Community College.\n\n$1 billion (nationally) for the Small Business Administration, an increase of $109 million above the FY 2021 funding level. This includes:\n\n$290 million, an $18 million increase, for Entrepreneurial Development Programs that provide small businesses with quality training, counseling and access to resources.\n\n$37 million for the Microloan Technical Assistance Program, which provides loans up to $50,000 to help small businesses and certain not-for-profit childcare centers start up and expand.\n\n$24 million for Women\u2019s Business Centers, which will help the Patsy T. Mink Center for Business and Leadership.\n\n$295 million (nationally) for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), an increase of $25 million above the FY 2021 enacted levels. CDFIs are specialized community-based financial institutions that promote economic development by providing financial products and services to people and communities underserved by traditional financial institutions, particularly in low-income and minority communities. They were especially valuable in delivering COVID-19 emergency assistance funds to communities without ready access to other means.\n\nMaintaining contracting preferences for Native American tribes and Native Hawaiian Organizations within the Departments of Veterans Affairs and Defense, which will help ensure equitable access in securing government contract work.\n\nSupport for Tourism Industry\n\n\u201cTravel and tourism are huge contributors to the U.S. economy, especially to major visitor destinations like Hawai\u2018i, but COVID-19 devastated this vital industry and all of its components including accommodations, transportation, food services and attractions,\u201d said Case. \u201cWe need to continue to support our tourism industry as it recovers and brings more jobs back into our economy.\u201d\n\nKey tourism provisions in the legislation requested, secured and supported by Case include:\n\nEnacting the Restoring Brand USA Act, which will invest $250 million to promote the return of international visitors who generally spend more per person than domestic travelers.\n\nReport language clarifying that the tourism industry can make requests for Economic Development Administration funds for certain travel promotion activities.\n\nReport language supporting the continued expansion of the preclearance program to eligible partners in the Indo-Pacific region to support ease of travel and tourism.\n\nCase\u2019s Appropriations Committee is responsible for allocating some $1.5 trillion in funding to federal government agencies, departments and organizations on an annual basis. A detailed summary of the FY 2022 Omnibus is available here\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T02:06:17Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://case.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=823"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6099829226732254, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}