2018 Federal Legislative Priorities for Micro-business Development
Find out which federal agencies fund micro-business development.
FY2018 Budget numbers
U.S. Department of Treasury– Financial Services and General Government Appropriations
| Program | FY18 – CAMEO Requests | FY18 Omnibus |
| Treasury CDFI Fund | $250 million | $250 million |
| Treasury CDFI BGP | $1 billion | $500 million |
U.S. Small Business Administration– Financial Services and General Government Appropriations
| Program | FY18 – CAMEO Requests | FY18 Omnibus |
| Microloan Program: Lending | $44 million | $36 million |
| Microloan Program: TA | $31 million | $31 million |
| PRIME | $10 million | $5 million |
| Women’s Business Centers | $100 million | $18 million |
| Small Business Development Centers | $130 million | $130 million |
U.S. Department of Agriculture– Agriculture, Rural Development and FDA Appropriations
| Program | FY18 – CAMEO Requests | FY18 Omnibus |
| Rural Business Development Grants (RBDG) | $35 million | $34 million |
| Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) | $3 million | $0 million |
| Intermediary Relending Program (IRP) | $19 million | $8.829 million |
| Value Added Producer Grants | $11 million | $16 million |
Priorities for advocacy at the federal level include:
- Establish Core Performance Measures for entrepreneurship training in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) to ensure access to funds for self-employment training and business technical assistance.
- Work to maintain and expand SBA funding for technical assistance.
- Work to expand SBA guarantees for non-bank CDFIs which would greatly increase capacity of CDFIs who serve micro-business.
- Continually press for California CDFIs to get a fair share of funding through the CDFI Fund; help CAMEO members become more competitive for awards.
- Promote technical assistance services as a key risk mitigator in microlending among all regulators and SBA.
- Promote microbusiness development as a key strategy for economic success in California among all Senate and Congressional representatives.
- Track and monitor priority policy issues relevant to micro-business development to ensure that CAMEO and its members are fully aware of all federal advocacy opportunities.
- Track USDA’s new Rural Micro Enterprise Assistance Program to ensure California receives its fair share.