Peters Applauds $200,000 Investment in Flint Veteran Business Outreach Center

Press Release

U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, today applauded the announcement by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to fund 14 Veteran Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs) across the country, including VetBiz Central Inc. in Flint. The $200,000 award to VetBiz Central Inc. will provide counseling, training, and assistance to veteran and service-disabled veteran entrepreneurs, in addition to Reserve Component, National Guard and transitioning service members interested in starting or expanding a small business.

"Ensuring that small businesses have the resources they need to grow, compete, and succeed is one of my top priorities in the Senate," said Senator Peters. "As a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, I applaud the SBA for making such an important investment in our nation's heroes as they continue to serve by starting small businesses and creating jobs in their communities."

A key responsibility of the VBOCs is to support transitioning service members as they embark on post military service careers that often include small business ownership and other forms of self-employment. A portion of the funding will be used to cover costs associated with coordinating, delivering, and conducting outreach to increase participation in the entrepreneurship track of the Department of Defense's (DOD's) Transition Assistance Program (TAP), known as Boots to Business, on military installations in the continental United States and its territories. VBOCs are directed by the Small Business Act to participate in the DOD's Transition Assistance Program.

VetBiz Central Inc., located in Flint, provides training and assistance towards starting and expanding small businesses to veterans, reservists, and National Guardsmen. VetBiz Central Inc. serves as a VBOC for service members in Michigan, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, and Indiana.

"America owes our support to our brave men and women in uniform both during and after their service, and the resources that the Flint VBOC provides will go a long way towards helping veterans, reservists, and Guardsmen become successful entrepreneurs," added Senator Peters.

As a former Lt. Commander in the Navy Reserve, Senator Peters has been a strong voice in Congress for Michigan's veterans and service members. Earlier this year, Peters introduced bipartisan legislation with Republican Senator Joni Ernst (IA), a Lt. Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard, to extend for five years a tax credit for small businesses that provide differential pay to military reservists and National Guard members called to serve on active duty.

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