WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Small Business is holding a full committee markup on three bills.

Chairman Roger Williams’ opening statement as prepared for delivery:

Today, we will mark up three important bipartisan bills that support efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse.

These bills reflect our continued commitment to ensure transparency and accountability within the SBA and support efforts to root out fraud in the SBA’s COVID-era lending programs.

The bills will establish an office to help recover taxpayer dollars, prevent conflicts of interest in loan processing, and codify the Office of Native American Affairs. These bills will support the SBA’s ability to serve America’s small businesses and taxpayers alike.

As Chairman, I am proud of the work underway in this Committee, particularly our efforts to address systemic failures and support existing SBA programs. The Committee has demonstrated our commitment to proactive, responsive oversight and accountability.

First, we will consider a bill that targets and prevents potential ethics violations in loan processing. The bill will enhance accountability and oversight of the SBA loan process by requiring conflict-of-interest certification.

Next, we will consider a bill to codify the SBA Office of Native American Affairs – an office which has been appropriated funds but has not been codified.

Finally, we will consider my bill to establish the Office of Whistleblower Awards. The Office will support the SBA OIG in its efforts to combat fraud. The bill will increase efficiency in fraud recovery by incentivizing public participation. With this additional resource, SBA is strategically positioned to stop bad actors and recover funds.

Correcting and mitigating systemic failures is inherently complex and requires a strong bipartisan effort.

I’m proud of the collaborative effort that resulted in today’s markup. These three bills lay the foundation for a better tomorrow.

I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to make strides in addressing waste, fraud, and abuse. By improving internal mechanisms and processes, the SBA is better positioned to serve American small businesses.

With that, I yield to the distinguished Ranking Member from New York, Ms. Velázquez for her opening remarks.

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