Letter to Hon. Kelly Loeffler and Mr. Hartley Caldwell, U.S. Small Business Administration (December 12, 2025)
Summary
A letter dated December 12, 2025 to Administrator Kelly Loeffler and Chief Information Officer Hartley Caldwell of the U.S. Small Business Administration raises concerns over the removal of the SBA's non-English language webpages. It states that on December 3, 2025 the Information in other languages page became no longer available and that on December 4, 2025 Spanish language pages were redirected to English equivalents. The letter cites Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 13166 and a CARES Act requirement on the 10 most commonly spoken languages other than English. It asks that the pages be restored and that its questions be answered by January 5, 2026. The signature block names Nydia M. Velázquez, Grace Meng, Adriano Espaillat, Judy Chu, Edward J. Markey and other Members.
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“Letter to Hon. Kelly Loeffler and Mr. Hartley Caldwell, U.S. Small Business Administration (December 12, 2025).”
Original at democrats-smallbusiness.house.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/5120-2025-12-12-vel-zquez-markey-espaillat-meng-and-chu-condemn-sb-att-4ec729f3bd/
, SHA-256 603815e3d0762142dfe70cbb75a4c73c46939bf743001b05000130b124505c55.Full text
December 12, 2025
Hon. Kelly Loeffler Mr. Hartley Caldwell
Administrator Chief Information Officer
U.S. Small Business Administration U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd Street, SW 409 3rd Street, SW
Washington, DC 20416 Washington, DC 20416
Administrator Loeffler and Mr. Caldwell:
We write with serious concerns regarding the removal of the U.S. Small Business Administration
(SBA)’s non-English language webpages from its website. We were made aware that on
December 3, 2025, links to the “Information in other languages” webpage from elsewhere on the
website were removed that day, and the page itself became “no longer available.” 1 Then, on
December 4, 2025, links to Spanish language webpages from elsewhere on the website were
removed, and the URLs for those pages redirected to their English language equivalents.2
The SBA’s Spanish language webpages provided information to Spanish speaking entrepreneurs
translated from their English language equivalents. They numbered in the dozens, and treated a
wide range of important small business and SBA topics, such as how to start and operate a
business, secure capital and other critical resources, and prepare for emergencies, as well as how
the SBA could help small business owners with each of those activities.3
Similarly, the SBA’s “Information in other languages” webpage provided information to other
entrepreneurs with limited English proficiency (LEP) about the resources and assistance the SBA
offers to small business owners, such as counseling through the Resource Partner network, small
business loan guarantees and microloans, help navigating the federal government contracting
system, and direct disaster loans. This information was offered in Simplified and Traditional
Chinese, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese.4
Not only do small businesses form the backbone of the American economy, but ownership of a
small business is also a key pathway for Americans of all backgrounds to work hard, prosper,
and earn a slice of the American Dream. This is why the SBA exists and is responsible for
1
Page no longer available, U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN. (Dec. 3, 2025), https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/information-
other-languages (last visited Dec. 5, 2025).
2
E.g., Business Guide, U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN. (Dec. 4, 2025), https://www.sba.gov/es/guia-de-negocios; U.S.
SMALL BUS. ADMIN., Guía de negocios, WAYBACK MACHINE (Jul. 1, 2025),
https://web.archive.org/web/20250701020608/https://www.sba.gov/es/guia-de-negocios.
3
U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN., La Agencia Federal de Pequeños Negocios, WAYBACK MACHINE (Sept. 26, 2025),
https://web.archive.org/web/20250926072033/https://www.sba.gov/es.
4
U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN., Information in other languages, WAYBACK MACHINE (Feb. 21, 2025),
https://web.archive.org/web/20251006131947/https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/information-other-languages.
1
providing help to America’s entrepreneurs. It is our collective responsibility as public officials to
assist and protect American small businesses, no matter the race or national origin of their
owners.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 1 in 5 Americans over the age of five years speak a
language other than English at home,5 and nearly 9 percent speak English less than “very well.” 6
Most (56.3 percent) Americans who speak non-English at home are immigrants 7 – a group with a
higher entrepreneurship rate than domestic-born Americans. 8 In other words, non-English
speaking Americans own and operate a sizeable portion of America’s Main Streets.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) bars discrimination based on race or national
origin in federally funded programs.9 Offering public services in just one or two languages can
prevent eligible persons from receiving them just because they were born and raised in another
country speaking another language.10 Federal agencies – dating back to the Nixon administration
– have applied Title VI to language access, an application that the Supreme Court has recognized
and upheld.11
In 2000, President Bill Clinton, citing Title VI, signed Executive Order (EO) 13166, which
required agencies, including the SBA, to provide “meaningful access” to “persons who, as a
result of national origin, are limited in their English proficiency.” 12 Furthermore, the CARES Act,
which was signed by President Trump, requires the SBA to “provide the resources and services
made available by the Administration to small business concerns in the 10 most commonly
spoken languages, other than English, in the United States.”13 The SBA has since provided
services to LEP entrepreneurs, including through the use of the Spanish and “Information in
other languages” webpages.14
While President Trump has issued EO 14224, which rescinds EO 13166, 15 EO 14224 explicitly
states, “nothing in this order, however, requires or directs any change in the services provided by
5
S1601: Language Spoken at Home, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (2024),
https://data.census.gov/table/ACSST1Y2024.S1601?t=Language+Spoken+at+Home.
6
B16001: Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over (2024), U.S.
CENSUS BUREAU, https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2024.B16001?t=Language+Spoken+at+Home.
7
B16005, Nativity by Language Spoken at Home by Ability to Speak English for the Population 5 Years and Over,
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU (2024), https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2024.B16005?
t=Language+Spoken+at+Home.
8
Robert W. Fairlie, Immigrant Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners, and their Access to Financial Capital,
OFF. OF ADVOC. (May 2012), https://advocacy.sba.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Immigrant-Entrepreneurs-
Financial-Capital-Full-Report.pdf (on file with the H. COMM. ON SMALL BUS.).
9
CONG. RSCH. SERV., IF13076, Overview of Language-Access Requirements for Federally Funded Programs and
Federal Agencies (Aug. 1, 2025).
10
Id.
11
Id.
12
Exec. Order No. 13166, 65 Fed. Reg. 50121 (Aug. 16, 2020).
13
CARES Act, § 1111, 15 U.S.C. 1910 (2020).
14
E.g., U.S. GOV’T ACCOUNTABILITY OFF., GAO-10-91, Language Access: Selected Agencies Can Improve
Services to Limited English Proficient Persons (Apr. 26, 2010); U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN., supra note 4.
15
Exec. Order No. 14224, 90 Fed. Reg. 11363 (Mar. 1, 2025).
2
any agency,”16 meaning that the SBA was not directed by the President in his EO to remove or
restrict the webpage, or to diminish its services for LEP small business owners.
The removal of the Spanish language and “Information in other languages” webpages does not
benefit the SBA in any meaningful way and impedes the ability of non-English-speaking
entrepreneurs to find information about SBA services for which they are eligible. The removal
also makes the already difficult task of launching and operating a small business more
challenging, which is troubling given the man-made economic crisis imposed by President
Trump’s chaotic, unsound tariff policies.
We ask that the Spanish language and “Information in other languages” webpages to the SBA’s
website be restored and make the following informational requests below. Please respond to
them by no later than Monday, January 5, 2026:
1. Many of the Spanish language webpages, as well as the “Information in other languages”
webpage, were last edited in 2025, under President Trump, and the information and
resources therein appeared to be current. Why were the webpages removed from the
SBA’s website?
Is the removal temporary or is the SBA no longer providing these services? If the
removal is temporary, please outline the timeline for restoration.
2. What, if any, guidance has been issued to SBA employees regarding providing
information in languages other English? Are there alternative resources available to
which the SBA is now referring small business owners?
3. Who authorized the removal of the Spanish language and “Information in other
languages” webpages from the SBA’s website?
4. In making the decision to remove the Spanish language and “Information in other
languages” webpages from the SBA’s website, did you consider the impacts this might
have on American small business owners with limited English proficiency (LEP)? Did
you consider that the cost of hosting additional webpages on an existing website is de
minimis?
5. Under the previous administration, the SBA’s Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Civil
Rights (ODICR) ensured that individuals receiving services from SBA and SBA-funded
programs are not subject to discrimination and provided information in English and other
languages about language access.17 We understand that ODICR has since been
eliminated. Who is now responsible for preventing discrimination at the SBA and the
16
Id.
17
U.S. SMALL BUS. ADMIN., 2022 Equity Action Plan (Apr. 14, 2022).
3
programs it funds? Who is now responsible for providing information about language
access?
If you have any questions about these requests, please contact Matt Low with the House
Committee on Small Business’s Democratic staff at (202) 225-4038.
Sincerely,
Nydia M. Velázquez Grace Meng Adriano Espaillat
Ranking Member CAPAC Chair Chair
Committee on Small Business Congressional Hispanic
Caucus
Judy Chu Edward J. Markey Morgan McGarvey
Member of Congress Ranking Member, Committee Vice Ranking Member
on Small Business and Committee on Small Business
Entrepreneurship
Hillary J. Scholten LaMonica McIver Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr.
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Kelly Morrison George Latimer Derek T. Tran
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Lateefah Simon Johnny Olszewski, Jr. Herbert C. Conaway, Jr.
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
4
Maggie Goodlander Rashida Tlaib Jan Schakowsky
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
James R. Walkinshaw Gwen S. Moore John B. Larson
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
John W. Mannion Chrissy Houlahan Mary Gay Scanlon
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Nanette Diaz Barragán Nikema Williams Pramila Jayapal
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Sylvia R. Garcia Frank Pallone, Jr. Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Eric Swalwell Adelita S. Grijalva Jesús G. "Chuy" García
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Paul D. Tonko Mike Thompson Jasmine Crockett
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
5
Kevin Mullin Steven Horsford Bonnie Watson Coleman
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Nellie Pou James P. McGovern Dan Goldman
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
André Carson Robert J. Menendez Scott H. Peters
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Vicente Gonzalez Chellie Pingree Ed Case
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Raja Krishnamoorthi Norma J. Torres Delia C. Ramirez
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jim Costa Yassamin Ansari Robert C. "Bobby" Scott
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Laura Friedman Juan Vargas Deborah K. Ross
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
6
Yvette D. Clarke Frederica S. Wilson Wesley Bell
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Robin L. Kelly Ted W. Lieu Shri Thanedar
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Dwight Evans Betty McCollum Raul Ruiz, M.D.
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Salud Carbajal Luz M. Rivas Dave Min
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Dina Titus Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pablo José Hernández
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Josh Gottheimer Ilhan Omar Zoe Lofgren
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Eugene Simon Vindman Jared Huffman Adam Smith
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
7
Gabe Amo Julia Brownley Mazie K. Hirono
Member of Congress Member of Congress United States Senator
Mike Levin Mark Takano Ritchie Torres
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jill Tokuda Robert Garcia Suzanne Bonamici
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Joaquin Castro Susie Lee Valerie P. Foushee
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Madeleine Dean Jimmy Gomez Sean Casten
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Stephen F. Lynch Greg Stanton Suhas Subramanyam
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
Gabe Vasquez William R. Keating Andrea Salinas
Member of Congress Member of Congress Member of Congress
8
Mark DeSaulnier
Member of Congress
9
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