Letter to The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration (April 4, 2024)

Summary

A letter dated April 4, 2024, from the House Committee on Small Business to Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The letter states that the Committee is investigating the SBA's activities involving voter registration, following the March 19, 2024, announcement of a voter registration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State. It states concern about the lack of constitutional and statutory authority for such activities. The Committee requests documents, including communications about the MOU and a full, unredacted copy of the MOU, no later than April 18, 2024, and a staff level briefing no later than April 11, 2024. The signature lines name Roger Williams, Chairman, and Blaine Luetkemeyer, Vice Chairman.

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Issuer: Congressional materials
Document type: 2024 04 04 Housesbc Majority To Sba Letter To Sba Re Mi Voting Mou
Date: 2024-04-04
Case: 2024 04 04 Housesbc Majority To Sba Letter To Sba Re Mi Voting Mou

Cite this document

“Letter to The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration (April 4, 2024).” Original at smallbusiness.house.gov, dated 2024-04-04. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/2024-04-04-2024-04-04-housesbc-majority-to-sba-letter-to-sba-re-mi-voting-mou/, SHA-256 11345ef0295007d88778ff7cf021add19e8371799533a35e52a3db1b2b387455.

Full text

April 4, 2024

The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman
Administrator
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd Street, SW
Washington, DC 20416

Dear Administrator Guzman:

The House Committee on Small Business (the Committee) is investigating the U.S. Small
Business Administration’s (SBA) activities involving voter registration. On March 19, 2024, the
SBA announced a new voter registration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the
Michigan Department of State.1 The Committee is concerned about the lack of constitutional and
statutory authority allowing the SBA to engage in activities beyond its mission, including voting
access and registration activities. It appears that this is an attempt to improperly involve the
federal government in America’s electoral processes. Elections are for the American people to
engage in, not for federal agencies to interfere with during an election year.

The SBA was created to “to aid, counsel, assist and protect the interests of small business
concerns; preserve free competitive enterprise; and maintain and strengthen the overall economy
of our nation.”2 Yet, the MOU between the State of Michigan and SBA aims to “promote civic
engagement and voter registration [through] Jan. 1, 2036.”3 This Agreement has nothing to do
with the SBA’s mission and the legal duties its charged to fulfill. Small businesses are suffering
from crippling inflation, overburdensome regulations, and U.S. small business optimism is at the
lowest level in months.4 It is unacceptable for the SBA to divert resources from serving small
businesses so it can register voters in Michigan.

1
Press Release, U.S. Small Bus. Admin., SBA Administrator Guzman Announces Agency’s First-Ever Voter
Registration Agreement with Michigan Department of State (Mar. 19, 2024).
2
Organization, U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN. (last visited Mar. 20, 2024), https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/organization.
3
Press Release, U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN., SBA Administrator Guzman Announces Agency’s First-Ever Voter
Registration Agreement with Michigan Department of State (Mar. 19, 2024).
4
See Mae Anderson, Inflation remains a headache for small business owners, AP NEWS (Mar. 19, 2024); See e.g.,
Explore the Data, Regulation Rodeo, AM. ACTION FORUM (last visited Mar. 20, 2024),
https://regrodeo.com/?year%5B0%5D=2024&year%5B1%5D=2023&year%5B2%5D=2022&year%5B3%5D=2021
; Amina Niasse, US small business optimism falls to lowest in 9 months, NFIB says, REUTERS (Mar. 12, 2024).
The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman
April 4, 2024
Page 2 of 3

The Committee, as expressed by multiple Members in our Committee hearing on March
20, 2024, has serious concerns about the political nature of this MOU.5 It is inconceivable why
Michigan—a state with a registered voting population above the national average—is where
SBA found a need to use taxpayer resources to register more Michigan voters.6 Additionally, the
timing of this MOU’s announcement is suspicious. The SBA made this announcement while
President Biden’s campaign directs its attention toward Michigan, a key battleground state for
his re-election efforts.7 The SBA involving itself in the election process of a battleground state
during an election year is an insult to struggling small business owners across America. Perhaps
this MOU is a “first of its kind collaboration for the SBA” because it is inconsistent with federal
law, has nothing to do with the SBA’s stated mission, and ignores the harsh realities small
businesses face under the Biden Administration.8

The American people deserve to know why the SBA is focusing on registering voters in
Michigan while small businesses nationwide struggle to survive under the Biden
Administration’s policies nationwide. Therefore, we formally request the following documents
and information, in addition to requests made during our March 20, 2024, hearing, covering the
time period of March 10, 2021, to the present, as soon as possible but no later than April 18,
2024:

1. All communications, including Microsoft Teams messages, between and among SBA
personnel regarding E.O. 14019, and/or the MOU, from March 10, 2021, to present.

2. All communications between SBA personnel and third parties, including but not limited
to small business owners, associations, non-profits, and SBA resource partners in the
State of Michigan, regarding E.O. 14019, and/or the MOU, from March 10, 2021, to
present.

3. A full, unredacted copy of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between
Michigan Department of State and the SBA.

4. A full, unredacted copy of any implementation plans regarding this MOU.

5. Interim and final reports drafted and submitted to the White House regarding
implementation of the E.O. from March 1, 2021, through October 31, 2021.

5
See Conducting Oversight: Testimony from the Small Business Administrator: Hearing Before H. Comm. on Small
Bus., 118th Cong. (Mar. 20, 2024) (statements of Dan Meuser, Member, H. Comm. on Small Bus., Pete Stauber,
Member, H. Comm. on Small Bus).
6
See Registered Voters by State 2024, WORLD POPULATION REVIEW (last visited Mar. 20, 2024),
https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/registered-voters-by-state.
7
See e.g., Biden campaigns in Michigan in latest visit to battleground state, THE WASH. POST (Mar. 14, 2024).
8
Press Release, U.S. Small Bus. Admin., SBA Administrator Guzman Announces Agency’s First-Ever Voter
Registration Agreement with Michigan Department of State (Mar. 19, 2024).
The Honorable Isabella Casillas Guzman
April 4, 2024
Page 3 of 3

6. Evidence sufficient to show whether the SBA engaged in any activity relating to voter
access or voter registration prior to the March 19, 2024, announcement of the MOU.

7. Evidence sufficient to show whether the SBA or the Michigan Department of State
initiated the engagement on the MOU.

In addition to the above requests, we request a staff level briefing as soon as possible but
no later than April 11, 2024.

To schedule the delivery of responsive documents or ask any related follow-up questions,
please contact the 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.

In God We Trust,

_________________________ _________________________
Roger Williams Blaine Luetkemeyer
Chairman Vice Chairman
Committee on Small Business Committee on Small Business

_________________________ _________________________
Pete Stauber Dan Meuser
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Committee on Small Business Committee on Small Business

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

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Our copy: 2024-04-04_HouseSBC-Majority-to-sba_letter-to-sba-re-mi-voting-mou.pdf
Original: smallbusiness.house.gov