"Committee on Small Business Hearing Questions Efficiency and Effectiveness of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development"
Summary
A House Committee on Small Business release dated November 14, 2023 on a full Committee hearing titled “Oversight of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development,” led by Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX). It gives Williams’s post-hearing statement that the SBA must be a good steward of taxpayer money. The release reproduces exchanges between members and Associate Administrator Madrid. Rep. Stauber asks whether Madrid agrees with $320 billion in additional regulations on small businesses, and Rep. Crane cites figures including real disposable income down 8.3 percent. Rep. Meuser cites a 40 percent cut to SCORE and a 13 percent cut to SBDC and compares a Community Navigator rate of $7,355 per client with an SBDC cost of $457.
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Committee on Small Business Hearing Questions Efficiency and Effectiveness of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development November 14, 2023 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX) led a full Committee on Small Business hearing titled “Oversight of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development.” Chairman Williams issued the following statement after today’s hearing. “We all know that small businesses don’t need government intervention to succeed,” said Chairman Williams. “For those that do need help, the SBA is there to serve, but recently the SBA has strayed away from programs it knows work for others that do not have a winning record. As the SBA spends millions of taxpayer dollars, it must be a good steward of that money and provide services that legitimately help our nation’s job creators. I’m thankful to have had this hearing today, and we will continue our work in ensuring the SBA is efficient, effective, and working in Main Street’s best interests.” Watch the full hearing here. Below are some key excerpts from today’s hearing: Rep. Stauber: “Do you agree with an additional $320 billion on American small businesses over the last three years under this administration? And by the way, these aren't my numbers. These are the administration's numbers.” Associate Administrator Madrid: “Representative, we believe in common sense regulations. We work with our Office of Advocacy.” Rep. Stauber: “Mr. Madrid, this is a real simple question. Your father was a small business owner. I was a small business owner for almost 30 years. I just asked you a simple question. 320 billion, that’s with a ‘B’. $320 billion additional on American small businesses in last three years. These aren't my numbers. These are the administration’s. As a deputy administrator, you can't agree with that, can you? Do you agree with punishing our small businesses, especially coming out of COVID?” Associate Administrator Madrid: “Representative none of us believe in punishing small businesses. And so, we continue to work with our Office of Advocacy.” Rep. Stauber: “Mr. Madrid, I’ve got few seconds. Can you answer the question? Is it good for American small businesses to have 320 billion additional dollars put on them, yes, or no?” Associate Administrator Madrid: “Representative, we look forward to common sense regulations and continue to work with our Office of Advocacy.” Rep. Stauber: “Mr. Madrid, I appreciate the political answer. I’ll answer it for you. It is not good for American small businesses to have $320 billion of additional regulations put on them.” Rep. Crane: “Now, I noticed you came in here and you were championing the Biden economy. I'm just going to give you some stats on the Biden economy. Real disposable income is down 8.3 percent. Homeownership affordability down a whopping 35.2 percent. Credit card debt is up 35.5 percent. Monthly savings is down 81.7 percent. And some of my other colleagues have also talked about some of the burdens that small business owners are dealing with, including inflation and also a worker shortage. So, I noticed that you weren't talking about any of those issues when you were touting the Biden economy right now. Is there a reason that you weren't talking about any of those? And how those are impacting small business?” Associate Administrator Madrid: “Well, I did talk about, thank you for the question, Representative. I did talk about how I’ve visited over 30 states in the last three years. And I did talk about how some small businesses have talked to me about the rising prices, as well as supply chain vulnerabilities, workforce development. I can go on and on about the different businesses I've visited on the ground.” Rep. Meuser: “I could go talk to 50 small businesses in my district because I'm from the business world as well. And every single one of them will tell me that. It's just interesting that you don't mention that.” Associate Administrator Madrid: “Well, I hear a series of issues from our small business owners, and our office is here to support them. So, I'm fortunate to be with these networks that we oversee, including our educational programs.” Rep. Meuser: “Yeah, but we need reality. We don't need ideology. Don't you agree? So let me ask you this. The Congressional Budget Office, you're basically slashing SCORE and the SBDCs, which are proven effective by a 40 percent cut to SCORE, a 13 percent cut to SBDC, pretty sizable reductions and yet you're pouring it on for the Community Navigator program which is suspect for various reasons, particularly since the CBO has stated that it started less than 500 businesses, which isn't bad, but at a rate of $7,355 per client. And meanwhile the SBDC assisted 306,000 clients at a cost of $457. So, I would just think the ROI for one is far better than the idea that you just like one over the other. Or is there a business reason why you're making that decision?” Associate Administrator Madrid: “Representative, every American deserves a chance at small business. I think we can all agree upon that.” Rep. Meuser: “Every American doesn't deserve taxpayer dollars that get wasted.”
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