WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Monday, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, along with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, wrote to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to once again demand documents on the agency’s voter registration activities and political travel. Chairman Williams and Senator Ernst issued the following statements.

“For the entirety of this Congress, the SBA has stonewalled every investigation we have conducted,” said Chairman Williams. “The investigation into their electioneering efforts has been no different. It appears as if the SBA intends to delay our oversight into their electioneering efforts until after November when the damage has already been done. It is this Committee’s job to hold the SBA accountable to the taxpayer, and we are prepared to use every tool at our disposal to do so.”

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“Where there is smoke, there is usually fire and the SBA’s refusal to answer basic questions fuels the appearance that the agency is disregarding the Hatch Act and engaging in partisan politics ahead of the 2024 election,” said Ranking Member Ernst. “The Biden administration weaponizing government resources adds insult to injury for small businesses who have been put through the wringer by inflation and the rapid expansion of the federal regulatory state. Sunlight is truly the best disinfectant, and the SBA needs to stop dodging accountability and commit to being transparent.”

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Read the story here.

Read the full letter here.

Read excerpts from the letter below:

“The House Committee on Small Business (House Committee) and the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (Senate Committee) write to express their concerns regarding the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) unwillingness or inability to provide responsive documents to the Committees’ investigation into the SBA’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the State of Michigan concerning voter registration and whether the SBA’s travel is politically motivated. Over the course of the 118th Congress, the SBA has consistently delayed the production of documents and failed to provide documents responsive to both Committees’ requests. Our Committees have an obligation to the American taxpayer to conduct diligent oversight.

“In a joint letter with Senate Committee Ranking Member Ernst, on May 16, 2024, the Committees requested transcripts and reimbursement summaries for political or mixed travel, as well as calendars and travel itineraries for several senior SBA employees. In response, the SBA provided 108 pages of media advisories concerning events the Administrator had attended—which as the Committees noted to your staff, were not what the Committees requested and is not considered responsive to the request. The Committees received no calendar records and zero information related to what happened on these trips. Further, no budgeting information or documentation of any sort was provided relating to how the SBA expenses political or mixed trips. Through discussions with the Committees, the SBA indicated it would provide some of these documents in July, but again, the SBA has failed to provide documents in a timely manner.

“It is deeply troubling that the SBA continues to withhold documents and information, not just because it suggests that the SBA is engaged in some wrongdoing, but also because it’s a direct attack on the coequal responsibilities of our respective branches of government. The SBA now manages hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of loans and has a much larger budget than it did prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The SBA’s newfound status and undeniable attempts to expand the SBA’s reach even further, requires substantially more rigorous oversight than may have previously been performed. The Committees seek to work with the SBA, not fight it; however, the SBA’s obstruction creates concerns over its actions and may force the Committees to use more direct means of attaining information.”

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