Women Owned Business

New NC Gov. announces first executive orders targeting Hurricane Helene recovery [Video]
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Small Business Funding

New NC Gov. announces first executive orders targeting Hurricane Helene recovery [Video]

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein spent his first full day on the job in Asheville, announcing five executive orders aimed at supporting recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene. Stein opened his speech with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.If you cant run, then walk. If you cant walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.He urged western North Carolinians to continue moving forward toward restoration. The governor highlighted the storms devastation, including more than 100 lives lost, damage to tens of thousands of homes, destruction of 8,000 private bridges and roads, and revenue losses for small businesses. I pledge to do everything in my power as governor to accelerate recovery and rebuild a more resilient region for the long haul, Stein said. The first executive order provides a limited waiver on state procurement regulations to increase the supply of temporary housing units for the more than 12,000 displaced residents. We’re talking about temporary housing units here in western North Carolina, which are 100% funded by the federal government through FEMA, Stein said. So, what we want to do in these first six months, when FEMA is 100% reimbursement, is to get as many people into temporary housing as we possibly can so they can be on their own properties, safely overseeing the reconstruction of their properties.The second order directs the Division of Emergency Management to expedite the hiring of workers for bridge and road repairs.First responders, school buses, delivery trucks, and private vehicles cannot access many affected properties, Stein said. The third order establishes the Governors Recovery Office for Western North Carolina, while the fourth formalizes the Recovery Advisory Committee to ensure reconstruction efforts are carried out efficiently and effectively. Finally, the fifth executive order authorizes state employees to use 16 additional hours of community service leave to help meet the regions recovery needs. In addition to these executive orders, Stein focused on the challenges small business owners are facing.There are many small businesses already carrying a lot of debt and unable to take on any more debt, he said. So, we have to be very creative in partnership with our legislature and in partnership with our federal representatives to come up with a different kind of grant program that can help businesses stay alive.

Trump names Linda McMahon to lead Department of Education [Video]
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Small Business Funding

Trump names Linda McMahon to lead Department of Education [Video]

President-elect Donald Trump has named Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education, aligning with his campaign promise to dismantle the department and return control to the states.”I’m going to close the Department of Education and move education back to the states,” Trump said.Trump announced his nomination of McMahon, a former small business administrator and wrestling executive, to spearhead this effort.”You could say, well, let’s pass a law that eliminates the Department of Education and all the programs it administers,” said Neal McCluskey of the Cato Institute.”If you don’t eliminate the programs, then you’ve got to put them somewhere,” McCluskey added.Currently, the Department of Education manages the federal student loan portfolio for over 40 million borrowers and provides financial aid.”For example, the federal government administers the Pell Grant and helps lots and lots of kids around the country get to college who couldn’t otherwise afford it,” said Rebecca Winthrop of the Brookings Institution.The department also allocates federal dollars to colleges and K-12 schools.”It’s a lot more about ensuring that every kid, no matter which state they live in, can get access to a high-quality education,” Winthrop added.Trump has vowed to cut funding for schools teaching critical race theory or gender ideology but wants to reward states and schools that implement universal school choice programs.”Instead of money going to just public schools, the money follows kids to whatever school their families choose,” McCluskey said.”I think the mechanism he would use is a scholarship tax credit. There is legislation for that,” McCluskey added.Some experts warn that while expanding school choice may appeal to parents, it could be dangerous and unconstitutional to implement nationwide.Federal funding accounts for less than 15% of public school budgets and much of the budget comes from the state and local levels.