Ernst Leads Senate to Confirm Kelly Loeffler as SBA Administrator

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, spoke on the Senate floor ahead of successfully leading her colleagues in confirming the Honorable Kelly Loeffler as Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA).

The Senate confirmed Loeffler in a bipartisan 52-46 vote.

Watch Ernst’s full remarks here.

After Chair Ernst advanced Loeffler’s nomination out of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, she highlighted Loeffler’s plan to fix the broken SBA and called on her colleagues to confirm Loeffler.

Ernst’s full remarks:

“Mr. President, in just a few minutes we will be asked to decide whether the Honorable Kelly Loeffler should be confirmed as Administrator of the Small Business Administration.

“As Chair of the Small Business Committee, I would like to strongly urge all of my colleagues to vote yes and support her nomination.

“As a successful business leader, Kelly Loeffler is the perfect person to increase transparency and accountability at the SBA and prioritize the needs of small businesses.

“Throughout the Committee’s rigorous nomination process, Senator Loeffler has been thoroughly cooperative and impressive. She passed out of the Committee with a bipartisan vote of 12 to 7.

“Over the course of her career, Senator Loeffler has shown how hard work, grit, and midwestern common sense can take you from Illinois’ soybean fields to CEO of your own company, and now, to lead a government agency.

“I am confident that Senator Loeffler will ensure SBA once again works for all small businesses, and usher in a golden age for America’s small businesses. 

“Senator Loeffler is the right person to lead the Small Business Administration – she understands the burdens facing small businesses and recognizes how Washington can often serve as a barrier and a hinderance to their success.

“I have no doubt that she will fight to make sure Main Street is heard.

“Again, I urge all of my colleagues to support her nomination and confirm Senator Loeffler as Administrator of the Small Business Administration.”

###