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Chairman Williams and Senator Ernst Condemn the SBA for Failing to Comply with Congressional Oversight Ahead of Election
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 statements on the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) failure to adhere to congressional oversight ahead of the November election.
“With just one week until the election, the Biden-Harris SBA is still stonewalling our investigation into their partisan voter registration scheme,” said Chairman Williams. “The lack of accountability has been astounding, and it’s clear that they are doing nothing more than stalling until the election is over. It is our responsibility to ensure that the SBA is working for the American people, and this Committee will use every resource available to hold them accountable for their failure to support Main Street America.”
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“Even though early voting is already underway, we still have no clue how much the administration is trying to put its thumb on the scale in key battleground states,” said Ranking Member Ernst. “This is fitting for the Biden-Harris SBA that has prioritized a radical leftwing agenda and stonewalled oversight efforts, instead of putting the needs of small businesses across America first.”
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Read the story here.
Background:
Since March of this year, Chairman Williams and the Committee, along with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) have been requesting documents from the SBA relating to its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) regarding voter registration efforts, but the agency has repeatedly failed to meaningfully fulfill the Committee’s requests. Despite the Committee’s numerous accommodations to the SBA to expedite document production, the agency has repeatedly produced largely duplicative documents that are not responsive to the Committee’s requests.
Throughout the Committee’s investigation, both Administrator Guzman and Associate Administrator for Field Operations, Jennifer Kim, have tried to downplay the MOU and the agency’s efforts in registering voters. While the SBA cites Executive Order 14019 as the primary reason for engaging in a MOU for voter registration with Michigan, EO 14019 directs federal agencies to assist states with voter registration operations if state election authorities reach out seeking assistance. However, MDOS did not seek assistance from the SBA. Instead, the SBA contacted MDOS first.
EO 14019 also requires a strategic plan detailing how the agency will assist the state in voter registration operations to be submitted to the White House, which the Committee has requested multiple times. Unfortunately, due to the SBA’s continuous failure to adhere to Congressional oversight, Chairman Williams was forced to subpoena the plan along with other documents, communications, and materials related to the MOU.
With just a week to go until the November election, the Committee still does not know how involved the SBA and its staff are in local, state, and federal elections. If there is truly nothing to hide, there is no excuse for the SBA to be stonewalling every aspect of this investigation. It has become increasingly clear that the SBA’s intent is to delay this investigation until after the election, once more delaying accountability for the Biden-Harris Administration.
“With just one week until the election, the Biden-Harris SBA is still stonewalling our investigation into their partisan voter registration scheme,” said Chairman Williams. “The lack of accountability has been astounding, and it’s clear that they are doing nothing more than stalling until the election is over. It is our responsibility to ensure that the SBA is working for the American people, and this Committee will use every resource available to hold them accountable for their failure to support Main Street America.”
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“Even though early voting is already underway, we still have no clue how much the administration is trying to put its thumb on the scale in key battleground states,” said Ranking Member Ernst. “This is fitting for the Biden-Harris SBA that has prioritized a radical leftwing agenda and stonewalled oversight efforts, instead of putting the needs of small businesses across America first.”
---
Read the story here.
Background:
Since March of this year, Chairman Williams and the Committee, along with Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) have been requesting documents from the SBA relating to its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Michigan Department of State (MDOS) regarding voter registration efforts, but the agency has repeatedly failed to meaningfully fulfill the Committee’s requests. Despite the Committee’s numerous accommodations to the SBA to expedite document production, the agency has repeatedly produced largely duplicative documents that are not responsive to the Committee’s requests.
Throughout the Committee’s investigation, both Administrator Guzman and Associate Administrator for Field Operations, Jennifer Kim, have tried to downplay the MOU and the agency’s efforts in registering voters. While the SBA cites Executive Order 14019 as the primary reason for engaging in a MOU for voter registration with Michigan, EO 14019 directs federal agencies to assist states with voter registration operations if state election authorities reach out seeking assistance. However, MDOS did not seek assistance from the SBA. Instead, the SBA contacted MDOS first.
EO 14019 also requires a strategic plan detailing how the agency will assist the state in voter registration operations to be submitted to the White House, which the Committee has requested multiple times. Unfortunately, due to the SBA’s continuous failure to adhere to Congressional oversight, Chairman Williams was forced to subpoena the plan along with other documents, communications, and materials related to the MOU.
With just a week to go until the November election, the Committee still does not know how involved the SBA and its staff are in local, state, and federal elections. If there is truly nothing to hide, there is no excuse for the SBA to be stonewalling every aspect of this investigation. It has become increasingly clear that the SBA’s intent is to delay this investigation until after the election, once more delaying accountability for the Biden-Harris Administration.
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