Honolulu Reporter

(Washington, DC) – On May 11, 2023, U.S. Congressman Ed Case (Hawai‘i – District 1) was honored with the 2023 Special Congressional Award by the Small Business Council of America (SBCA) during an event held in Washington, DC. The SBCA is a national, non-profit organization representing the interests of 100,000 privately held and family-owned businesses.

“I am honored to receive this award, but also appreciate the attention it draws to the importance of small business as a critical economic engine for our country, as well as in my Hawai‘i, where there are more than 137,000 small businesses that make up more than 99 percent of all businesses in the islands,” said Case. 

The SBCA previously honored Case with its Special Congressional Award in 2006, when he represented Hawaii’s Second Congressional District and served on the U.S. House Committee on Small Business. He was also presented with SBCA’s Appreciation Award in 2019, the first year of his return to Congress, “for his keen understanding of small business issues and his dedication to promoting fiscally responsible solutions in Congress.”

In presenting the award Darryl Taira, Honolulu attorney and member of the SBCA, praised Representative Case for his contributions in helping small businesses, including his support of the various Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan programs, co-sponsorship of a number of bills which support the Small Business Administration (SBA) and reduce bureaucratic barriers, and securing funding in excess of $1 billion for key small business assistance award programs managed by the SBA.

In his remarks, Taira noted: “Representative Case is truly a friend of small businesses in Hawai‘i. No one is more deserving of this honor and prestigious award than Representative Case. The SBCA also greatly appreciates everything Mr. Case does for all small businesses.”

This year, the SBCA recognized Case “for his efforts and leadership to protect the interests of the small businesses of this country, in particular, your work with the Problem Solvers Caucus to pursue bi-partisan solutions to the challenging issues facing our country.”

“My Problem Solvers Caucus, where I serve on the Executive Council as one of four vice-chairs here, has advocated for various measures to support small business, including the historic $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan enacted into law last year.

“Also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the law will boost small business by improving infrastructure increases access to customers and suppliers, enhancing business operations and creating demand for goods and services, closing the digital divide to ensure that more people can participate in the growth of our economy, and opening up federal contract opportunities for small business to compete for infrastructure work.”

In 2020, Case also sponsored a measure similarly endorsed by his Problem Solvers Caucus here, the PPP Flexibility Act, signed into law, that revamped some of the rules of the program to make it more accessible and equitable for small businesses struggling to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the recent Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 federal omnibus funding measure, Case, as a member of the House Appropriations Committee responsible for overseeing and funding all federal government agencies, departments, and organizations on an annual basis, helped to secure $1.2 billion for the Small Business Administration, an increase of $188 million above FY 2022’s funding measure.

Case has sponsored other measures to support small business, including:

1.       H.R. 6454, the Small Business Advocacy Improvements Act of 2022, which would have expanded the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Office of Advocacy. This office is the independent voice for small businesses within the federal government, the watchdog for the Regulatory Flexibility Act and a trusted source of small business statistics.

2.       H.R. 6445, the Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Improvement Act of 2022, which would have provided additional federal funding to expand the SBDCs program that provide counseling and training to help small businesses access capital, improve financial management skills and develop plans for measurable growth.

3.       H.R. 6441, the Women’s Business Centers (WBCs) Improvement Act of 2022, which would have reauthorized the WBCs program to assist women in starting and growing small businesses across the United States.

4.       H.R. 6450, the SCORE for Small Business Act of 2022, which would have reauthorized and modernized the SBA’s SCORE program to better pair experienced volunteers with young entrepreneurs for mentoring and training.

5.       H.R. 7670, the Women-Owned Small Business Program Transparency Act. This bill would have required the SBA to report the number and total dollar amount of contracts awarded under the Women-Owned Small Business Federal Contracting Program.

6.       H.R. 7664, the Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical Education Act of 2022, which would have assisted small businesses in hiring graduates from career and technical education programs.

The Special Congressional Award is one of just a few such honors that the SBCA has awarded over the last forty years. The SBCA has advocated for small businesses on federal tax, health care and employee benefit matters since 1979. This year’s awards will mark the 40th year that the SBCA has honored members of Congress who have assisted small businesses to make them more productive and profitable, thereby allowing them to grow and become leaders in the community.

Attachments (pictures courtesy of the Office of Rep. Ed Case)

·        Picture of Rep. Case with Honolulu attorney Darryl Taira and a member of the SBCA

·        Picture of 2023 Special Congressional Award for Rep. Case

Original source can be found here.