WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access held a hybrid hearing on “Catalyzing Economic Growth Through SBA Community-Based Lending”

Subcommittee Ranking Member Dan Meuser’s opening statement as prepared for delivery:

Thank you, Madam, and thank you for holding this hearing on small business access to capital. 

It is and will remain, one of the top issues for this Committee. 

Over the last few years, Main Street businesses across our vast nation have experienced one hurdle after another. 

COVID-19 shutdowns devastated the country’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups.  From forced closures to capacity restrictions, business owners were confronted with a challenging path forward. 

In response to the emergency period, former President Trump and Congress enacted numerous small business relief measures, including the popular Paycheck Protection Program that was delivered to small businesses through private-sector lenders. 

Today, small businesses are facing economic headwinds that are preventing their recovery and growth. 

If it isn’t scorching inflation and price increases, small businesses are facing supply chain disruptions that are preventing goods from reaching their shelves. 

On top of ever-increasing costs caused by reckless Washington spending, small businesses continue to have trouble finding employees.

These are not the economic conditions that instill confidence into a sector of our economy that produces nearly half of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and comprise over 99 percent of all businesses in the nation.

Despite these obstacles, small businesses can lead our nation back to economic growth. 

In order to do this, however, we must ensure the lending environment is healthy, robust, and responsible. 

That is why a public-private partnership lending model must continue to be the model of choice for our country when it comes to federal access to capital programs. 

Involving the private sector is the best way to produce efficiencies that can’t be matched or equaled by the federal government. 

Furthermore, private-sector lenders act as sentinels against fraud. 

Anything less is unacceptable. 

One example of this public-private partnership is through the SBA’s 504/CDC Loan Program. 

This program, which focuses on economic development reached record highs last fiscal year while serving small businesses and communities across the nation.

In my state, Pennsylvania, the program issued 185 loans last fiscal year for over $153 million. Again, this is an economic development driven program, therefore each loan requires a job-creation goal or a community development goal to be met. 

While the program continues to be successful, there is more work that needs to happen, especially when it comes to the management of the program by the Small Business Administration. 

The turn time on delivering loans to small business owners continues to grow which is concerning and the SBA has slow-walked the implementation of the 504 Express Program which was enacted in a bipartisan manner over a year ago.  

Madam Chair, I would like to note that when Republicans ask about the delays in launching this new tool, all we receive back from the SBA is that it will be implemented soon.  This is not acceptable.     

Small businesses are working tirelessly to serve their communities.  Unfortunately, the actions of this Administration do not suggest that they are putting the nation’s job creators at the forefront. From the SBA inadequately answering our questions to Treasury Secretary ignoring this Committee and small businesses by refusing to testify, despite what the law requires.  This Administration must do better.    

With that Madam Chair, I want to thank you for holding this hearing and I am looking forward to the conversation on how public-private partnership lending models can successfully deliver capital to the nation’s job creators and the communities that they serve.   

I yield back.

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