This op-ed on the Main Street Efficiency Act of 2021 was originally published in the Wilmington, N.C. Star News. 

It’s not new news that the economic fallout from the pandemic has hit local mom-and-pop businesses, restaurants, and shops the hardest. Millions of small businesses closed in 2020, leaving the backbone of our nation’s economy bowed and at risk of breaking. Because small businesses employ nearly half the workforce and are responsible for more than 40% of the nation’s GDP, the ripple effects of these closures are far from contained.

As a local Wilmington small business proprietor and the strategy officer for a company that provides services to small businesses, we are living this reality every day. And so, as we watch our lawmakers in Washington develop a new package of assistance and infrastructure investment from our “boots on the ground” vantage point, we urge that any new funding for companies like ours serves two purposes. One, funding must offer immediate financial relief to the small businesses that are hurting the most. But two, the government must design programs in a way that ensures long-lasting benefits to our bottom lines – not just a temporary boost.

One of the highest-impact options is one that is often overlooked: Congress can provide federal funding to support energy efficiency improvements in small businesses. These improvements can save small businesses 30% on their utility bills – every single month, year over year.

Continue reading on Star News Online.