As we review one year of the second Trump Administration from 20th January 2025 to date and one year on as Social Impact Media Partner of the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), Latestsale.com’s collaboration that began at the “Leveraging Regionalism to Support Small Business Midwest Region Convening” held at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago on 20th November 2024, emerged with some unique findings.
Biden/Harris Small Business Lending Program
Recent U.S. Government growth initiatives introduced during the 2023–2024 Biden/Harris Administration, focused on expanding lending and federal contracting opportunities for small businesses across the United States. These efforts emphasized streamlining procurement processes, to improve transparency, thus increasing access to government contracts for small enterprises.
Furthermore, these milestones aimed to reduce long-standing barriers faced by minority- and women-owned enterprises while promoting fairness, economic inclusion, broader participation, and sustainable growth within the federal marketplace nationwide. The AEO President and CEO Natalie Cofield pointed to the achievements of the Biden/ Harris Administration in supporting over 100,000 small businesses with $56BN in lending through the SBA as noted in the Biden Harris Archives: “U.S. Lending to Small Businesses in 2024 and New Actions to Cut Red Tape and Expand Contracting Opportunities.”
THE MECHANICS: Biden/ Harris Administration 2021-2024– Small Business Policy
In summary, Vice President Harris’s economic policies emphasized expanding access to capital and increasing federal contracting opportunities for small businesses. Under the Investing in America Agenda, the SBA was therefore able to report record-breaking lending and federal contract awards, alongside expanded tools such as MySBA Certifications. These measures greatly assisted underserved and minority-owned firms compete more effectively for government contracts. Long-term support, and an inclusive economic growth plan was achieved.
OVERVIEW: Biden/ Harris (2021-2024) Policy Action Plan
SBA Lending and Contract Expansion (Investing in America Agenda) was a core feature of the Biden/ Harris Administration between 2021-2024. Additional Bills signed by President Joe Biden included, the Covid-19 $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law developed to upgrade the nation’s aging infrastructure, the $280BN funded CHIPS and Science Act created to boost domestic semiconductor manufacturing, thus fortifying American supply chains, and the Inflation Reduction Act relating to delivering affordable renewable energy costs for American businesses.
THE MECHANICS: Trump First Administration 2017-2021– Small Business Policy
During Trump’s first term as 45th President of the United States between January 20, 2017 – January 20, 2021, economic policy focused on broad corporate tax reductions under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, aimed at stimulating investment and overall economic growth. While these tax cuts supported large corporations and investors, they did not directly target expanded lending access or federal contracting opportunities for small businesses or underserved entrepreneurs, hence the introduction of the SBA Lending and Contract Expansion program led by the Harris/ Biden Administration.
The AEO Aligns with Current Federal Small Business Policies
As a leading advocate for underserved micro businesses, the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) aligns its work with current federal small business policies. The AEO is known as a leading provider of essential technical assistance to small U.S. enterprises and is suitably geared up to strengthen partnerships with financial institutions, whilst supporting additional initiatives that expand access to capital and federal contracting. These efforts focus on empowering historically excluded entrepreneurs and improving long-term economic participation nationwide. It is therefore paramount that the second Trump Administration policies are aligned with AEO goals in order to optimize seamless collaboration with lawmakers committed to supporting small enterprises in the U.S.
THE MECHANICS: Biden/ Harris Administration 2021-2024– Contracting Programs
On the whole, the expansion of the federal contracting program by the Biden/Harris Administration focused on reducing administrative complexity, improving transparency, and increasing participation of small businesses in government procurement. Through updated SBA contracting policies, including the 8(a) Business Development Program and the Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program, minority and women-owned firms are better positioned to access federal contracts. These targeted reforms that support inclusive economic growth, improve equity in public spending, and strengthen long-term contracting opportunities nationwide, are widely supported by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) leadership team.
Furthermore, the elimination of outdated regulations also focused on removing long-standing compliance barriers that have limited small business access to federal contracting opportunities. According to SBA findings, excessive documentation requirements, overlapping reporting standards, and inflexible procurement rules created unnecessary delays and costs for small and underserved firms. Recent policy updates implemented by the Biden/Harris Administration aimed to streamline these processes, improve efficiency, reduce administrative burdens, and make contracting pathways more accessible while maintaining transparency and accountability for public funds.
Key Findings – Harris (2021-2024) Economic Plan Summary Notes
Key findings of the Harris Economic Plan highlight a strong focus on small business growth and inclusive economic development. The plan emphasized targeted tax relief for entrepreneurs, expanded access to capital through federally supported financial programs, and increased opportunities for small businesses to participate in federal contracting. These measures are designed to reduce long-standing structural barriers, encourage entrepreneurship, and to strengthen sustainable economic opportunities for underserved and rural communities nationwide.
Key Findings – Trump First Administration (2017-2021) Economic Plan Summary Notes
The Trump First Administration’s economic plan emphasized reducing corporate tax rates and rolling back federal regulations to stimulate business investment and economic growth. Key policies focused on lowering tax burdens, easing regulatory requirements in industries such as energy and manufacturing, and encouraging private-sector expansion. While these measures aimed to boost competitiveness and job creation, critics argued that some deregulatory actions produced uneven outcomes for underserved and marginalized communities.
- The Latestsale.com Founder and President joined in-person the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Midwest AEO Regional Council Convening launch on 20th November 2024. These pivotal AEO Regional councils have been created to strengthen local interactions between U.S. business communities and U.S. Government, solidifying support for these small enterprises across the various regions and accelerating engaging discussions with lawmakers. By 2026/2027, the AEO expects to have expanded its presence across the full 10 regional councils throughout the USA.
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- The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Midwest AEO Regional Council 2024 Convening was also attended in-person by the following distinguished panelists and Moderators:
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- Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, President, Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies who was present to sign the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) with President and CEO of the AEO, Natalie Madeira Cofield
Renée Johnson- 2024 AEO Senior Director of Regional and Ecosystem Councils and currently AEO Vice President of Ecosystems and Strategic Partnerships
- Dilawar Syed, Former 2024 Deputy Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
- Geri (Sanchez) Aglipay, former 2024 Region V Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration
- Kristi Dula, Director, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
- Veronica Maturino, Chief Executive Officer, ONABEN
- Mambu Sherman, Vice Presidentfor Global Philanthropy at JPMorgan Chase & Co
- Shelly Brown Senior Director at AON, and U.S. Army Veteran, management consultant and more recently, a Board of Trustees member at the William Woods University
- Steven Anthony, Chairman of Anthony Global Holdings Inc., now also Senior Director for Economic Development for the City of Miami Beach
- Leslie McGranahan, Senior Vice President and Director of Regional Research and Engagement at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Cassie Carroll, Director of the Green Business Engagement National Network (GBENN)
- Aarti Kotak, 2024 Managing Director, and Head of ESG and Social Impact at Ariel Alternatives
- Lenwood Long Sr., Chief Executive Officer at the African American Alliance of CDFI CEOs
- The Wisconsin Women’s Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) 2024 President/CVO (Chief Visionary Officer) Wendy Baumann
DISCLAIMER 1. 2025 AEO PARTNERSHIP RECAP- Latestsale.com Federal Reserve Bank commentary is for informational purposes only and does not constitute any Federal Reserve Bank endorsement, advice or financial planning suggestions.
DISCLAIMER 2. 2025 AEO PARTNERSHIP RECAP- Latestsale.com commentary relating to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Thoughts and observations are our own. Federal Reserve Bank personnel’s shared views are not necessarily those of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.