In Appropriations Markup, Rep. Lee Votes to Support Small Businesses, Expand Access to Affordable Chile Care, Make Nevada Communities Safer

July 1, 2022
Press Release

WASHINGTON – Last week, Rep. Susie Lee, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, voted to pass the fiscal year 2023 Financial Services and General Government funding bill out of the full Appropriations Committee. This bill contains many provisions that Rep. Lee fought for, including $350,000 for the Clark County Small Business Opportunity Program. This funding would help small business owners increase their capacity to compete for government contracts that come with good-paying jobs.

This bill also includes language that urges the Small Business Administration to allow non-profit child care providers access to the same SBA loans that for-profit child care providers can access, in line with Rep. Lee's Small Business Child Care Investment Act. This will help bring down child care costs by breaking down barriers to opening child care centers.

"As more and more Americans are getting back to work, it's more important than ever that we support our small businesses, and this funding bill supports so many programs that will directly help our small businesses in Nevada thrive," said Rep. Susie Lee. "This legislation includes my community project funding that will help small businesses compete for government contracts. This funding will help more small businesses better compete for these contracts that bring good-paying jobs to Nevada. I'm also so proud that this bill includes pieces of my Small Business Child Care Investment Act. Nevada is one of 33 states where child care is more expensive than the cost of college tuition. This funding bill urges SBA to allow non-profit child care providers access to the same SBA loans that for-profit child care providers can access. This will help bring down child care costs by breaking down barriers to opening non-profit child care centers, which can often be more affordable than for-profit child care centers."

The Financial Services and General Government funding bill:

  • Includes Rep. Lee's Community Project Funding request for $350,000 for the Clark County Small Business Opportunity Program. This funding would help Nevadan small business owners increase their capacity to compete for government contracts that provide good-paying jobs.
  • Expands access to child care for Nevada families by urging the Small Business Administration to allow non-profit child care providers access to the same SBA loans that for-profit child care providers can access, in line with Rep. Lee's Small Business Child Care Investment Act. This will help bring down child care costs by breaking down barriers to opening child care centers.
  • Assists small businesses and entrepreneurs through the Small Business Administration and Community Development Financial Institutions.
  • Addresses the opioid crisis and cracks down on illegal drug trafficking by boosting funding for the Drug-Free Communities Program and the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas Program.
  • Funds the modernization of the Internal Revenue Service to get Nevadans their refunds more quickly, and to finally crack down on big corporations and the wealthy who are not paying their fair share and to provide better customer service to working families navigating the tax system.
  • Protects our democracy with Election Security Grants to ensure the integrity and safety of our elections.
  • Supports working and middle-class families by increasing funding for consumer protection activities at the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.
  • Confronts the climate crisis by providing funding to start the transition of the Federal vehicle fleet to electric and zero emission vehicles.

The following amendments to the bill were adopted by the full Committee:

  • Rep. Quigley – The manager's amendment makes technical and noncontroversial changes to the bill and report. The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

  • Rep. Stewart #3 – This amendment prohibits the government's use of cloud computing platforms unless they prevent child exploitation images. The amendment was adopted by voice vote.

A summary of the bill is here. The text of the draft bill is here. The bill report, before the adoption of amendments in full Committee, is here. In keeping with the Appropriations Committee's commitment to transparency, information on Community Project Funding in the bill is here.

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