SBA veterans small business advisory committees to host virtual public meetings Sept. 2-3

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Interagency Task Force on Veterans Small Business Development and Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs will hold virtual public meetings Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 2-3, via Microsoft Teams.

“Now more than ever, it is critical for our veteran small business advisory committees to discuss challenges faced by the veteran small business community and how we can expand the resources available to them,” Larry Stubblefield, associate administrator for the Office of Veterans Business Development, said. “We look forward to hosting our committee meetings virtually, supporting and advocating for this important and underserved population.”

The IATF will meet Wednesday, Sept. 2, from 1-3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time via Microsoft Teams.

The ACVBA will meet Thursday, Sept. 3, from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The meeting will be two separate sessions with a lunch break in between. Part 1, the morning session, will meet from 9 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time and Part 2, the afternoon session, will meet from 1-3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

Find all the meeting links at https://www.sba.gov/article/2020/aug/18/sba-veterans-small-business-advisory-committees-host-virtual-public-meetings-sept-2-3.

Public comments and questions are strongly encouraged to be submitted in advance by Aug. 28 to [email protected] or 202-205-6773. During the live event, attendees will be in listen-only mode and may submit additional written questions via the Q&A chat feature in Microsoft Teams. For technical support, visit the Microsoft Teams support page. Transcripts will be available after both meetings at http://www.sba.gov/ovbd, under the “Federal Advisory Committees” section.

The IATF meeting will include committee member updates from the Departments of Defense, Labor, Treasury and Veterans Affairs, General Services Administration, Office of Management and Budget, North Carolina Military Business Center and Student Veterans of America.

Committee members will also receive updates from the Vocational Readiness and Employment program and the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance programs.

The ACVBA meeting will include remarks from ACVBA chairwoman Fran Perez-Wilhite as well as updates on the Veteran Business Project. Topics discussed during the meeting will include SBA’s veterans’ programs, women-owned, small-business federal contracting program, the 8(a) Business Development program, Veterans Affairs’s Center for Verification and Evaluation’s verification process, the VR&E program and General Services Administration’s sam.beta.gov changes.

Committee members will also hear about lessons learned from the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.

Submitted by Small Business Administration.