The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration (March 15, 2023)

Summary

A March 15, 2023 letter from the Committee on Small Business to Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), stating that the Committee is investigating the SBA's decision to end collection on purchased Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans with an outstanding balance of $100,000 or less. The letter states that the SBA decided on April 27, 2022 to end collections and that, as of June 30, 2022, the SBA had ended debt collections on approximately 59,000 of these loans, totaling approximately $1.1 billion. The letter cites a September 30, 2022 report from the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG). The letter requests a staff level briefing no later than March 24, 2023, and documents and information no later than March 31, 2023; the signature block names Roger Williams, Chairman.

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Full text

                                         March 15, 2023

The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman
Administrator
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3 rd Street S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20416

Dear Administrator Guzman:

        The Committee on Small Business is investigating the Small Business Administration’s
(SBA) decision to end collection on purchased Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans with an
outstanding balance of $100,000 or less. The Committee seeks to better understand this decision
and the economic analysis conducted prior to making the decision. We write today to request a
staff level briefing and request documents and information.

        The PPP closed on May 31, 2021, after making approximately 11.8 million loans,
totaling $799.8 billion.1 Of these 11.8 million loans, approximately 10.1 million loans, totaling
$228.7 billion, were valued at $100,000 or less. 2 On April 27, 2022, the SBA decided to formally
end collections on purchased PPP loans with an outstanding balance of $100,000 o r less.3 As of
June 30, 2022, SBA had ended debt collections on approximately 59,000 of these loans, totaling
approximately $1.1 billion.4

        On September 30, 2022, you received a Management Advisory report from the SBA
Office of Inspector General (OIG) regarding this decision.5 The OIG report found that “SBA did
not analyze quantitative PPP data to support that the potential cost of collecting on a PPP loan is
likely to be more than the amount recovered.” 6 Additionally, the OIG “did not find any evidence
that SBA made any attempts to collect on the purchased PPP loans.” 7 The OIG recommended
that the SBA:



1
  SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF I NSPECTOR GEN., SBAIG-22-25, SBA’S GUARANTY PURCHASES FOR
PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM LOANS (Sept. 30, 2022).
2
  Id.
3
  Id.
4
  Id.
5
  Id.
6
  Id.
7
  Id.
The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman
March 15, 2023
Page 2 of 3

   1. Stay the April 27, 2022 decision to end collections on purchased PPP loans with an
      outstanding balance of $100,000 or less until a comprehensive cost benefit analysis is
      conducted.

   2. Explore alternative means of collections for PPP loans with an outstanding balance of
      $100,000 or less.

       It is imperative to understand how the SBA came to this decision in order to ensure
proper stewardship of American taxpayer dollars. We therefore we request a staff level briefing
as soon as possible but no later than March 24, 2023. In addition, we request the following
documents and information, as soon as possible but no later than March 31, 2023:

   1. Total number of purchased PPP loans valued at $100,000 or less that are affected by the
      SBA’s April 27, 2022 policy.

   2. All communications between and among SBA staff relating to the April 27, 2022
      decision to end collection on purchased PPP loans.

   3. All communications between SBA and any external entities, including but not limited to
      the White House, relating to relating to the April 27, 2022 decision to end collection on
      purchased PPP loans.

   4. All documents and evidence relied upon in making the determination that the cost to
      collect the purchased PPP loans would likely be more than the recovery amount.

   5. A copy of the comprehensive analysis, if conducted, recommended by the September 30,
      2022 report.

       To schedule the delivery of responsive documents or ask any related follow-up questions,
please contact Committee on Small Business Majority Staff at (202) 225-5821. The Committee
on Small Business has broad authority to investigate “problems of all types of small business”
under House Rule X. Thank you in advance for your cooperation with this inquiry.”


                                            Sincerely,



                                            _________________________
                                            Roger Williams
                                            Chairman
                                            Committee on Small Business
The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman
March 15, 2023
Page 3 of 3

cc:   The Honorable Nydia M. Velasquez, Ranking Member
      Committee on Small Business


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