Jobs and Small Business – Creating Jobs and Sustaining/Supporting Small Business 

The 49^th District is blessed with small businesswomen and men that understand what it means to put their precious savings at risk to start a business, serve the local community and earn a living for their families. 

Small businesses account for over half of all jobs in the United States and are critical to growing the economy and creating new jobs. They also serve critical demands in the 49^th District – from our diverse shops and restaurants on Columbia Pike to the retailers and merchants in Bailey’s Crossroads.

President Obama appointed Alfonso Assistant Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration. In this capacity he led the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs for the agency and had the primary responsibility for devising and implementing SBA legislative strategy. He worked to develop and enact SBA legislative proposals in the areas of economic development, job creation, capital/lending, contracting, innovation and disaster assistance. Alfonso also served as the lead liaison for SBA's communications on legislative activities with Congress.

Some notable successes during his tenure included the Small Business Jobs Act, the Contracting Parity Fix, the SBA reauthorization extension and inclusion of the Jobs Act Fee Relief/Guarantee Enhancements in the Short Term CR at the end of the 111th Congress. 

From my service in the Obama White House helping to lead the effort to pass the Small Business Jobs Act and the Contracting Parity fix – I’ve fought to make sure that we have the economy and the infrastructure necessary for our children’s lives to be better than our own. It is imperative that small businesses be given the tools they need to thrive. 

 I am very proud of my work on the Small Business Jobs Act – which was signed by the President in September of 2010. As a result of the reforms and initiatives in this legislation, efforts to open up the credit markets for medium and small size banks and encourage lending to small businesses and entrepreneurs again were very successful.  Within several weeks of the bill being signed into law, targeted lending programs spiked to the highest levels in the history of the SBA. The result has been increased job growth, averaging 190,000 new jobs per month, for the past several months.

While working as the head of Congressional and Federal Affairs for Virginia as a part of Governor Kaine’s Administration, Alfonso served as a Member of the ten-person Virginia Stimulus/Recovery Act Leadership Team. He also regularly coordinated Regional Summits between the Governors of Virginia and Maryland and the Mayor of Washington, D.C. to address issues including economic development in our region. 

Alfonso understands that job creation and protection in Virginia must be a top priority. We need to be doing so much more to spur the economy in Virginia. 

Alfonso will support legislation to: 

• Ensure economic development grants given to private companies are actually creating jobs by requiring these businesses to file reports on job-creation progress. 

• Expand workforce-training programs for unemployed Virginians. 

• Pass the Fairness and Justice Act, a bill that would bring Virginia's anti-discrimination employment policy into line with the vast majority of Fortune 500 companies. 

• Increase funding for small business loans. 

• Create greater incentives for small business development. 

• Work to emulate aspects of the Obama Administration’s Startup America program in Virginia.