An entrepreneurial program at risk in budget talks

As Congress works fervently to reconcile a tax bill and a federal budget to put on the president’s desk before the holidays, the needs of small and emerging entrepreneurs throughout our country — along with the communities they serve — have been subsumed in a larger debate about our national and personal health and wealth.

But it is imperative we not lose sight of lesser-known, at-risk programs that propel entrepreneurship, spur job creation, and shore up communities in ways that are integral to our economy, our democracy and the way we imagine destiny, liberty and opportunity for Americans across the land.