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NASE Will Encourage All 50 States to Adopt Self-Employment Assistance Program in 2013
For Immediate Release: Contact: Scott Strykermedia@nase.org
$35 Million Available to States to Launch SEA Programs
Washington, D.C. - December 19, 2012 - The National Association for the Self- Employed (NASE) enthusiastically supports the Small Business Administration and Department of Labor's launch of the Self-Employed Assistance (SEA) program center website . The site serves as a streamlined resource for states looking to establish a Self-Employed Assistance program or refine an existing program, and for unemployed individuals interested in the program’s benefits.
The Self-Employment Assistance Program (SEA) is designed to encourage and support unemployed individuals in creating their own jobs by starting their own small businesses. Unemployed Americans are able to receive unemployment benefits while working full-time on starting their own business through the SEA program. The launch of an aggressive campaign to encourage all 50 states to adopt the program also includes the release of $35 million in
grant monies to states to help with the creation, implementation, and refinement of the SEA program.
The grant program was established as a part of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, signed into law by President Obama on February 22, 2012. The Act also included legislative direction to encourage the Small Business Administration and the Department of Labor to work together to ensure the flexibility in states’ ability to adopt the program.
"The NASE welcomes and applauds the SBA and Department of Labor in their implementation of the grant program and the web portal, as the expansion of the SEA program into all fifty states is a priority for the NASE," stated NASE President & CEO Kristie Arslan, "In a time of still record unemployment and an unstable economy, the Self-Employment Assistance program allows unemployed Americans an opportunity to create their own job and secure their economic future."
Currently, only seven states have an SEA program in place: Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Visit the SEA program website for more information on each of these state programs.
About the NASE
The National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE) is the nation’s leading resource for the self-employed and micro-businesses, bringing a broad range of benefits to help entrepreneurs succeed and to drive the continued growth of this vital segment of the American economy. The NASE is a 501(c) (6) non-profit organization and provides big-business advantages to hundreds of thousands of micro-businesses across the United States. For more information, visit the association’s website at NASE.org .