Lance Bass to Lawmakers in New Ad: “Life has changed in the last 23 years, it’s time the SBA does too. Reauthorize the Small Business Administration.”

‘Bye, Bye, Bye’ topped Billboard charts same year that SBA was last reauthorized

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices is announcing a new digital and Connected TV ad campaign today with former *NSYNC singer Lance Bass to highlight the fact that Congress has not reauthorized the Small Business Administration (SBA) in the 23 years since the band’s “No Strings Attached” tour swept the United States.

“Let me take you back to the year 2000,” Bass says in the new ad. “*NSYNC had the best selling CD of the year. Times have changed. But you know what hasn't changed? The Small Business Administration, which Congress has not reauthorized since 2000, which means small businesses are still getting the same kind of support they got when dial-up internet service was widely used. As if!”

The new ad released today, which will air on Connected TV and digital platforms, is part of a campaign that Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices kicked off last year with the delivery of a letter signed by more than 3,000 small business owners from all 50 states calling on Members of Congress to work together on legislation reauthorizing the SBA.

In the 23 years since Bass toured with *NSYNC, CDs, fax machines, and acid wash jeans have gone by the wayside, but the small businesses that employ nearly half of America’s private sector workforce are still getting the same assistance they did back then. In fact, many small businesses are still asked to fax forms to the SBA in order to receive assistance.

“We’re excited to be teaming up with Lance Bass to highlight the urgent need for Congress to reauthorize the Small Business Administration,” added Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices National Director Joe Wall. “We look forward to continuing our conversations with lawmakers in the days and weeks ahead so that today’s small business owners can get the support they need from the federal government.”

While Congress has enacted important policies over the last two decades to benefit small businesses, it has not taken the step of actually reauthorizing the SBA. Today, under divided government in Washington, reauthorizing the SBA might be one of the only things that Democrats and Republicans can work together on in order to deliver results for the American people.

With reauthorization, Congress can enable the SBA to:

• Modernize technical assistance and entrepreneurial development programs to reflect today’s technology;
• Ensure that capital programs meet the various financing needs of small businesses to continue to grow and attract investment;
• Expand federal procurement opportunities for more small businesses to do business with the government;
• Build a more responsive customer support center to ensure that questions and inquiries do not go unanswered; and
• Develop a 21st century communications and marketing strategy to bring more awareness to the resources available for small businesses.

About 10,000 Small Businesses

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses launched over a decade ago to provide a prestigious business education program along with access to capital and support services. It has reached more than 12,800 small business owners across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C. to date. Learn more at www.gs.com/10ksb

About 10,000 Small Businesses Voices

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices, which in April marked its two-year anniversary, builds on this initiative and organizes program participants to advocate for policies that matter to them. Learn more at www.gs.com/10ksb-voices

About Goldman Sachs

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment banking, securities, investment management and consumer banking to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.

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