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Our Biz Box Podcast is live!
Featuring, Chairman Untalan
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We are excited to share with you and our island community the debut of our Guam Chamber podcast!
In this first episode, we introduce the podcast host, Catherine Castro, President of the Guam Chamber of Commerce, and our 2022 Chairman of the Board, Ed Untalan, who discuss what the Guam Chamber of Commerce has in store in the coming months and what to look forward to in future podcast episodes.
Have a listen and let us know what topics you are interested in the Chamber covering in future episodes.
Be on the lookout for our Member Spotlight Podcast coming soon!
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Roll Back Guam's BPT For All Businesses!
Sign the Petition Today!
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Action PAC, Inc. invites all legal voting-age residents of Guam to sign the petition to roll back the Business Privilege Tax (PBT) from 5% to 4% or more immediately and have their voices heard by our elected officials.
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General Membership Meeting |
Your Guam Chamber General Membership Meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 11:30 a.m., at the Micronesia Ballroom, Hilton Guam Resort & Spa. This month's meeting will feature Melanie Mendiola, Administrator/CEO of
Guam Economic Development Authority, who will speak on public finance opportunities.
Don't forget to bring your business cards and arrive early to meet and mingle with fellow members! We look forward to seeing you at the general membership meeting!
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GYP Immersive Event
Port Authority of Guam Tour
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The Guam Young Professionals hosted their first Immersive Event - Port Authority of Guam Tour on Tuesday, May 3rd.
Members gained insight of the Port's Modernization Program, and the daily operations of what takes place dockside. Seeing the gantry cranes in operation and how our goods are imported to our island then sent out to our community was an eye opener!
We would like to thank the Port Authority of Guam management and staff for hosting us! Be on the lookout for more immersive event opportunities coming soon!
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Pictured are 18 of our Guam Young Professional Members joined by Chamber Staff Rebekah Mendiola & Schuyler Delgado along with, Ryan Arriola and Brenda Atalig of the Port Authority of Guam. |
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MAY 19-21 Regional AmCham Summit in Vietnam |
The AmChams of Asia Pacific, an umbrella group of over 25 AmChams around the region, will hold its 2022 Business Summit in Vietnam from May 19-21. The Summit is an annual event offering a valuable opportunity to discuss the main issues facing American business in the region along with an in-depth examination of specific industry issues of critical importance to AmCham members. The Summit features a full-day conference in Hanoi - featuring keynote remarks from senior government officials and panel discussions with private sector executives and industry-focused thought leaders on shifting from pandemic to endemic, regional economic recovery, and the United States' Asia engagement and its implications for American business - before the group moves down to Hue for cultural and networking activities. All Guam Chamber members are invited to participate.
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Economy & Inflation
A new Chamber report shows how a nation’s intellectual property (IP) policies influence its economic output.
Why it matters: IP protection is a critical instrument for economies seeking to enhance innovation, grow domestic innovative output, and enjoy the dynamic growth benefits of an innovative economy.
Details: This year, the Chamber released the tenth edition of the International IP Index, ranking the IP systems in 55 global economies across 50 indicators.
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Now, the Chamber released a new companion study, the IP Index Statistical Annex, showing the economic benefits of improving IP protection.
—Kelly Anderson, Executive Director, Health and Drug Policy, Global Innovation Policy Center
Articles of Interest:
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GHRA UPDATE:
RULES & REGS for SWIMMING POOLS
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DPHSS' Division of Environmental Health (DEH) will be enforcing the Rules and Regulations for Public Swimming Pools, which was adopted in March 2019. DPHSS' DEH will present at a GHRA Membership Meeting on Tuesday, May 10, 2022 at 9:00am via Zoom with regards to the newly adopted rules and regulations. Click the button down below to register.
For background information, attached are the documents from the administrative and public hearings that took place during the AAA process before it was passed into law. Click here or on the link below. The following includes the economic impact statement, summary of revisions for the proposed rules and regulations for public swimming pools and minutes of the legislative hearing.
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GSA UPDATE:
UNIQUE ENTITY ID REGISTRATION EXTENTION
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Last month, the new Unique Entity ID generated in SAM.gov became the official, governmentwide identifier used for federal awards. To continue to help users during the transition, there will be an automatic, 30-day extension for any existing SAM.gov entity registrations needing to be renewed with an expiration date ranging between Friday, April 29, 2022, and April 28, 2023. No action is required on the part of entity registrants.
Each impacted registration renewal will have 30 days added to their expiration date. As an example, an entity registration set to expire on June 1, 2022 will automatically be granted a 30-day extension to July 1, 2022. Entity administrators impacted by this change will receive an email from samadmin@sam.gov with the subject line “30-Day SAM.gov Extension Granted for [Entity Name/Unique Entity ID/CAGE].”
The new expiration dates will be included in the SAM entity management extracts and available through web services after the records are extended. We will process the extensions in a deliberate, incremental manner over the course of several weeks. This will allow the U.S. government systems which rely on our data to consume it on their normal cadence.
If you need assistance with any of the IAE systems, including SAM.gov, please contact the Federal Service Desk at FSD.gov. To learn more about the IAE and our systems, visit GSA.gov/IAE.
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U.S. SBA UPDATE: COVID EIDL WIND DOWN |
Alongside the President’s vaccine strategy and global leadership in managing the pandemic, the SBA’s pandemic relief programs, including the COVID EIDL program, have been critical pieces in getting Americans safely back to work, powering our historic economic recovery, and helping small businesses navigate challenges caused by recent variants, as well as supply chain and inflation challenges. The COVID EIDL program, alone, has allocated more than $378 billion in relief aid to over 3.9 million borrowers, including to the smallest of small businesses from historically underserved, disadvantaged communities.
The SBA expects the covid-EIDL program to run out of funding very soon, likely within a week. There is some uncertainty in this kind of prediction as a program of this scale winds down because of the volume of lending involved, but that is our best available projection at this time. To maximize the opportunity to receive relief funding, the SBA will continue to accept loan increase and reconsideration applications for the program, from outstanding, eligible borrowers, through May 6th.
- As funds are expiring, the application portal that allows borrowers to apply for this program will soon close. The SBA is planning to close the portal on May 16, 2022, after funds are projected to expire.
- The portal – which can be located at covid19relief1.sba.gov - will no longer be accessible after 11:59 PM ET on May 16, 2022.
- Approved borrowers that have not signed their loan closing documents for their original loan or loan increase should do so by 11:59 PM ET on May 16, 2022, to prevent a delay in disbursement. Obligated loans will only be rescinded if the loan is cancelled.
- Borrowers that do not download their loan closing document by 11:59 PM ET on May 16, 2022, will need to contact the Disaster Customer Service Center at (833) 853-5638 or their local field office to obtain copies of their loan closing documents. It may take 3-5 business days to receive requested documents.
Since March 2022, the SBA has advised COVID EIDL borrowers of the pending exhaustion of funds and encouraged them to request any increases or loan reconsiderations they may be eligible for. In addition, borrowers are also encouraged to download and save all their loan documents prior to the closure of the portal in the coming weeks. The Agency continued outreach surrounding the exhaustion of funding and document retention through April through various mediums including via email and SBA hosted webinars. Outreach will continue through early May to ensure borrowers have the information they need to navigate this transition.
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Additional resources and support are still available. Funding is still available through our core, traditional lending programs [7(a), 504, Microloan, Disaster Assistance] as well as creating new initiatives to help small businesses and startups equitably access the capital, resources and support they need, such as the enhanced Community Advantage Pilot Program and the Community Navigators Pilot Program. Under Administrator Guzman, the Agency has also opened doors through new contracting reforms, helping more small manufacturers and contractors -- including underserved firms – do business with the world’s largest buyer: the U.S. Government. In addition, small businesses owners seeking assistance in navigating government resources can also work with the SBA’s already robust outreach network of 140+ Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), 22 Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOCs), 68 Field Offices, and 1000s of Resources Partners that offer counseling, training, mentorship, and assistance.
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2022 Pacific Defense Contracting Summit |
You are invited to attend the 2022 Pacific Defense Contracting Summit September 27-29, 2022 Honolulu, Hawaii. Take advantage of early registration rates register now.
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If you would like to vote but are not registered, you can register online at the Guam Election Commission's website. You will need to have either a valid Guam Drivers License or Guam identification card to register electronically.
Dates to remember:
· Guam Primary Election: Saturday, August 27, 2022 [Polls open: 7 am - 8 pm]
· General Election: Tuesday, November 8, 2022
[Polls open: 7 am - 8 pm]
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I Bisinun Mami- Malesso' & Humåtak |
Friendly reminderI Bisinun Mami- Malesso' & Humåtak next training will be at the Malesso Senior Citizen Center on Saturday, May 7 and 14, from 9am to 12pm.
Below is the link to register for I Bisinun Mami and our Village Training Calendar.
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