"Chairman Williams, Senator Ernst Issue Statement on SBA Refusal to Comply, Importance of Congressional Oversight"

Summary

A joint statement dated May 15, 2024 from Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, and Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, on the Small Business Administration's (SBA) refusal to comply with document requests and Committee investigations. The statement says the SBA has continued to ignore requests from both Committees and calls on Administrator Guzman to work with them. Its background section says House Committee Republicans have been investigating SBA voter registration efforts stemming from E.O. 14019, and that the SBA announced a voter registration MOU on March 19, 2024. It states that the Committee issued two transcribed interview requests on April 18, 2024, that the SBA did not make the two people available, and that Williams issued subpoenas on May 7, 2024.

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Full text

Chairman Williams, Senator Ernst Issue Statement on SBA Refusal to Comply, Importance of Congressional Oversight

May 15, 2024

Tags:

Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, along with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, issued the following joint statement on the importance of Congressional oversight and the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) refusal to comply with document requests and Committee investigations.

“The House and Senate Committees on Small Business have a constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the SBA.

“To little surprise, Biden’s SBA has continued to stonewall and ignore legitimate requests from both Committees. We are extremely disappointed that the agency has chosen this path, nevertheless, we’re not stopping our joint efforts to get answers on behalf of the American people.

“We must ensure the SBA is focused solely on helping America’s small businesses, not working to campaign or swing votes by conducting and participating in outside political activities.

“These potential violations demand immediate attention. It is our hope Administrator Guzman and her agency choose to work with us to bring much-needed transparency and accountability.”

Background:

Since President Biden announced his March 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting (E.O. 14019), Republicans on the House Committee on Small Business (the Committee) have been investigating the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) involvement and participation in the voter registration efforts stemming from E.O. 14019. The Committee re-engaged the SBA and Administrator Guzman when the SBA issued a press release on March 19, 2024, announcing their new voter registration Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

Moreover, the Committee issued two transcribed interview requests to Mr. Robinson and Mr. Plews on April 18, 2024, following a video recording with information pertinent to the investigation and was made public the previous day. The SBA refused to make Mr. Robinson and Mr. Plews available for their respective interviews and made no effort to negotiate alternate dates and times. Congressman Dan Meuser (PA-09) attended the transcribed interview for Mr. Robinson on Thursday, May 2, 2024, and made a statement on the record.

On May 7, 2024, the Chairman Williams subpoenaed Mr. Robinson and Mr. Plews for failing to appear for their transcribed interviews.

The House and Senate Committees on Small Business remain committed to ensuring the SBA is transparent with the American public and focused on ensuring that they are not involved in political activities on behalf of a sitting President.

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Original: smallbusiness.house.gov