GAO-26-108956: Priority Open Recommendations: Small Business Administration

Summary

A letter dated June 8, 2026 (GAO-26-108956) to Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler on priority open recommendations, with a signature block naming Orice Williams Brown, Acting Comptroller General of the United States. It states that as of June 2026 SBA had 60 open recommendations, 14 of which are priority recommendations, and that SBA implemented three priority recommendations since the May 2025 letter. It highlights oversight of COVID-19 pandemic programs, including cross-program data analytics and access to external data to detect potential fraud, and risk management for an IT system for contracting assistance programs. It also states that SBA should expand and document processes related to COVID-19 overpayments.

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441 G St. N.W.                                                                          Comptroller General
Washington, DC 20548                                                                    of the United States



June 8, 2026


The Honorable Kelly Loeffler
Administrator
U.S. Small Business Administration
409 3rd St., SW
Washington, D.C. 20416


Priority Open Recommendations: Small Business Administration


Dear Administrator Loeffler:

The purpose of this letter is to call your personal attention to two areas where open
recommendations to the Small Business Administration (SBA) should be given high priority.

In January 2026, we reported that, on a government-wide basis, 77 percent of our
recommendations made 5 years ago were implemented. 1 SBA’s recommendation
implementation rate was about 96 percent. As of June 2026, SBA had 60 open
recommendations, 14 of which are priority recommendations. 2 Since our May 2025 letter, SBA
implemented three priority recommendations. 3 I appreciate SBA’s continued commitment to
addressing our recommendations, which will better position the agency to more effectively and
efficiently achieve its mission.

We are highlighting the following areas that warrant your timely and focused attention:

•   Improving oversight of COVID-19 pandemic programs. From March 2020 through March
    2022, SBA provided more than $1 trillion in loans and grants to small businesses through
    pandemic relief programs. SBA moved quickly and under challenging circumstances to
    develop and launch these programs. However, rapid implementation increased the risk of
    improper payments—that is, payments that should not have been made or were made in
    incorrect amounts, including those resulting from fraud. We recommended that SBA (1)
    develop cross-program data analytics to better identify applicants attempting to defraud
    multiple programs and (2) identify and obtain access to external data to help verify applicant



1GAO, Performance and Accountability Report, Fiscal Year 2025, GAO-26-900644 (Washington, D.C.: Jan. 29, 2026).

2GAO considers a recommendation to be a priority if, when implemented, it may significantly improve government

operations, for example, by realizing large dollar savings; eliminating mismanagement, fraud, and abuse; or making
progress toward addressing a high-risk or duplication issue.
3GAO, Priority Open Recommendations: Small Business Administration, GAO-25-108048 (Washington, D.C.: May 1,

2025). In this letter, we identified 17 priority recommendations.



Page 1                                                          GAO-26-108956 SBA Priority Recommendations
    information and detect potential fraud. Fully implementing these recommendations could
    help the agency more strategically manage fraud risks in ongoing and future programs.

•   Addressing cybersecurity and IT management challenges. SBA should take steps to
    more effectively implement key practices for its privacy program and manage risk to its IT
    systems. For example, we recommended that SBA fully define and document a process for
    involving its senior privacy official in addressing workforce needs to ensure a well-qualified
    privacy workforce. We also recommended that SBA address critical risk management issues
    for an IT system that helps small businesses participate in its contracting assistance
    programs. Fully implementing these recommendations would help SBA better protect
    sensitive data.

Three of these areas—emergency loans for small businesses, cybersecurity and IT
management risks—are also included on GAO’s High Risk List. Several other government-wide,
high-risk areas have direct implications for SBA and its operations, including strategic human
capital management. We also identified actions SBA should take that could result in cost
savings. For example, we reported that SBA should expand and document processes related to
COVID-19 overpayments to more effectively identify and recover overpayments. More
information on our Duplication and Cost Savings work can be found on the GAO website.

A comprehensive list of open recommendations, including new priority recommendations, and
information about their status can be found on the GAO website at Recommendations Database
| U.S. GAO. Copies of this letter are being sent to the appropriate congressional committees. 4
This letter will also be available at Priority Recommendations | U.S. GAO.

We would welcome an opportunity to discuss how to address our open recommendations, as
we pursue the shared goal of working to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of
government programs and spending. Please do not hesitate to contact me or Daniel Garcia-
Diaz, Managing Director of the Financial Markets and Community Investment team, at
GarciaDiazD@gao.gov. Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Media
Relations may be found on the last page of this letter. Thank you for your personal attention to
these important issues.

Sincerely,




Orice Williams Brown
Acting Comptroller General
of the United States


4We also help Congress identify congressional oversight actions that can help agencies implement priority

recommendations, such as incorporating them into legislation. James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2023, Pub. L. No. 117-263, § 7211(a)(2),136 Stat. 2395, 3668 (2022) (codified at 31 U.S.C. § 719
note). Congress can also use its budget, appropriations, and oversight processes to incentivize executive branch
agencies to act on our recommendations and monitor their progress. For example, Congress can hold hearings
focused on agencies’ progress in implementing priority recommendations, withhold funds when appropriate, or take
other actions to provide incentives for agencies to act.


Page 2                                                      GAO-26-108956 SBA Priority Recommendations
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