"Committee Republicans Pen Letter to SBA Regarding Alleged Electioneering Activities"
Summary
A House Committee on Small Business release dated April 4, 2024 announcing that Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX) and Reps. Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Stauber (R-MN) and Meuser (R-PA) wrote to the Small Business Administration (SBA) about its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State to register voters. It carries a statement in which Williams calls the MOU improper, inappropriate and perhaps unconstitutional. Excerpts from the letter state that the Committee is investigating the SBA's voter registration activities and that the SBA announced the MOU on March 19, 2024. The letter excerpts quote the MOU's aim to promote civic engagement and voter registration through Jan. 1, 2036, and question the SBA's constitutional and statutory authority for the activity and the timing of the announcement.
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Full text
Committee Republicans Pen Letter to SBA Regarding Alleged Electioneering Activities April 4, 2024 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (R-TX), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, along with Reps. Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Stauber (R-MN), and Meuser (R-PA), wrote to the Small Business Administration (SBA) regarding a recent decision by the SBA to enter a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State to register voters. Chairman Williams issued the following statement. “The SBA’s MOU with the Michigan Department of State is improper, inappropriate, and perhaps, unconstitutional,” said Chairman Williams. “The SBA was created for one reason: to assist our nation’s small businesses. It has no reason whatsoever to involve itself in political and potentially electioneering activities. Moreover, the fact the SBA would divert resources away from Main Street so it can focus on voter registration in a battleground state is an affront to our job creators especially for all they do for our communities and economy. Americans have a right to know what exactly is going on here, and this Committee plans on getting answers.” Read the full story here. Read the full letter here. Read excerpts from the letter below: “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. 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.’ Yet, the MOU between the State of Michigan and SBA aims to ‘promote civic engagement and voter registration [through] Jan. 1, 2036.’ 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. It is unacceptable for the SBA to divert resources from serving small businesses so it can register voters in Michigan. “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. 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. 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. 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.”
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