Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Committee on Small Business Republicans issued a joint statement on a letter sent to Isabella Guzman, the Administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA). The letter, signed by all Small Business Committee Republicans and other Republicans, demands answers on the SBA’s request to become a designated voter agency – which detracts from the agency’s core responsibility of helping and assisting the nation’s smallest businesses.

“Instead of focusing on the needs of small businesses, the SBA seems to be more interested in directing their resources elsewhere. Main Street USA and American families are under siege. Inflation, under Biden and Pelosi, continues to run rampant.  Small businesses cannot hire due to a labor shortage. Supply chain disruptions are hurting daily business operations. The price of gas at the pump is crippling budgets and pocketbooks. These are the real issues the Biden administration and the SBA should be prioritizing, not partisan political activities.”

Background:

In March 2021, President Biden issued an executive order on “Promoting Access to Voting.”  Specifically, under Sec. 3 of the EO, federal agencies are asked to consider ways to “expand citizens’ opportunities to register to vote and obtain information about, and participate in, the electoral process.”  This includes “ways to provide access to voter registration services and vote-by-mail ballot applications.”

In January 2022, the Small Business Administration (SBA) issued a press release highlighting the agency’s request to be designated as a “voter agency.”  “As the first federal agency to request designation as a voter agency, through the SBA’s district offices, small business owners and others will have the services they need to ensure their voices are heard at the ballot box and fair representation for their communities.”

On March 29, 2022, House Administration Committee Ranking Member Davis along with several other GOP Ranking Members, including Ranking Member Luetkemeyer, sent a letter to the Biden Administration inquiring about the Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting (E.O 14019).  Please find the full letter here.

On June 15, 2022, Ranking Members of the Small Business, Education & Labor, Oversight and Reform, Energy and Commerce, and Agriculture committees sent a letter to their respective federal agencies demanding answers on their efforts pertaining to Executive Order 14019.

###