WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Interagency Task Force (IATF) on Veterans Small Business Development and the Advisory Committee on Veterans Business Affairs (ACVBA) will hold public meetings March 7 and 8, respectively, at SBA headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The March 7 IATF meeting will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. The March 8 ACVBA meeting runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in SBA’s Eisenhower Conference Room at 409 Third Street, SW, Washington, D.C., 20416.

Both meetings will address the current state of veteran-owned small businesses and provide progress updates regarding advancing veteran entrepreneurship and employment. Committee members will receive briefs on access to capital, counseling and training, and government contracting. The ACVBA meeting will also include a discussion on service-disabled veteran-owned small business 8(a) program eligibility, commercial supply chain opportunities, and veteran small business certification availability.

Both IATF and ACVBA meetings are open to the public and held quarterly in Washington, D.C. You can join the meeting by teleconference at 1-888-858-2144, access code: 7805798#. You can also participate via webinar at http://soc.att.com/2o3e7qf.

Following each IATF and ACVBA meeting, transcripts will be available at www.sba.gov/ovbd , under the section heading “Policy Formulation Committees.”

Please email any questions to veteransbusiness@sba.gov, or call (202) 205-6337.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was created in 1953 and is a Cabinet-level agency of the federal government to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business concerns, to preserve free competitive enterprise and to maintain and strengthen the overall economy of our nation. The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses, and recover from disasters. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, the SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam. To learn more about SBA, visitwww.sba.gov.