Ranking Member Ernst, House Chairman Williams Call on SBA to Stop Stonewalling Congressional Oversight

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business, and Congressman Roger Williams (R-Texas), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, issued the following joint statement on the importance of Congressional oversight and the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) refusal to comply with document requests and committee investigations:

“The House and Senate Committees on Small Business have a constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the SBA.

“To little surprise, Biden’s SBA has continued to stonewall and ignore legitimate requests from both Committees. We are extremely disappointed that the agency has chosen this path, nevertheless, we’re not stopping our joint efforts to get answers on behalf of the American people.

“We must ensure the SBA is focused solely on helping America’s small businesses, not working to campaign or swing votes by conducting and participating in outside political activities.

“These potential violations demand immediate attention. It is our hope Administrator Guzman and her agency choose to work with us to bring much-needed transparency and accountability.”

Background:

In April, following the release of a shocking video showing an SBA senior advisor claiming Administrator Guzman is actively participating in politically motivated travel with taxpayer dollars and hiding controversial small business policy decisions from members of Congress, Ernst demanded answers from Guzman. Her letter has gone unanswered.

The House and Senate Committees on Small Business remain committed to ensuring that the SBA is transparent with the American public and focused on ensuring that it is not involved in political activities on behalf of a sitting president.

Since President Biden announced his March 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting (E.O. 14019), Ernst and Williams have been investigating the SBA’s involvement and participation in the voter registration efforts stemming from E.O. 14019. The leaders re-engaged the SBA and Administrator Guzman when the SBA issued a press release on March 19, 2024, announcing their new voter registration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

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