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Chairman Williams, Republican Members from Michigan Write to Michigan Department of State Over SBA Electioneering
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, along with all Republican Members of Congress from Michigan, penned a letter to Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson regarding the state’s partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as it relates to voter registration efforts. Chairman Williams and Congresswoman Lisa McClain (MI-09) issued the following statements.
“The issue at hand is pretty simple – the SBA has the ability to indirectly campaign for President Biden in the State of Michigan,” said Chairman Williams. “The fact the SBA has abandoned Main Street to focus on registering voters is a slap in the face to our small businesses who need assistance during these challenging economic times. This is a ridiculous – and likely illegal – use of taxpayer resources. I thank my Michigan colleagues for joining me in this effort, and we will not stop until the SBA is completely and totally forthcoming.”
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“The United States is built upon the principle of free and fair elections, but the Biden administration seems to not care about upholding our democracy,” said Rep. McClain. “Instead, they’re using the taxpayer funded SBA to coordinate voter registration with Michigan’s Secretary of State. This is an unbelievable abuse of power that will ruin the integrity of our elections. I am gravely concerned about the SBA’s plot, and I will not rest until I get to the bottom of it.”
Read the story here.
Read the full letter here.
Read key excerpts from the letter below:
“We write today as members of both the Michigan congressional delegation and the House Committee on Small Business (the Committee) with great concern over the apparent and blatant weaponization of taxpayer resources to aid and abet President Biden’s re-election campaign in the state of Michigan. It appears the Biden Administration and your office have diverted funding away from supporting small businesses and used it for election purposes. This is unacceptable.
“In March of this year, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced both a Memorandum of Understanding and a Memorandum of Agreement (collectively referred to as the ‘MOU’) regarding voter registration with the Michigan Department of State (MDOS). The MOU detailed the level of coordination between the two entities with the claimed goal of boosting voter registration in the state. Specifically, the MOU details a plan to create a unique URL for the SBA’s website that will direct visitors to the state of Michigan’s voter registration page, obligates the SBA to provide voter registration training to all personnel conducting activities under the MOU, and states that the SBA may invite MDOS to various in-person events to allow MDOS to register attendees to vote.
“Perhaps even more egregious, the investigation conducted by the Committee found that 39 out of the 52 small business outreach events currently scheduled in Michigan from January through November 2024 coincidently take place in counties with the highest populations of demographics targeted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Additionally, 100 percent of the visits to Michigan from the SBA Administrator and Deputy Administrator have taken place in counties with the highest populations of DNC target demographics. While the SBA claims no actual voter registration efforts have occurred, it is curious that the SBA Administrator, appointed to help all small businesses thrive, has concentrated her efforts in areas key to the Biden campaign securing re-election.
“Furthermore, on April 17th, 2024, a special advisor to Administrator Guzman’s Chief of Staff was caught on camera saying, ‘anytime we go, we try to visit with a member of Congress if they’re a Democrat … because then we can help them get re-elected as well … the White House was like, yes, go. … Don’t invite the other senator because he’s a Republican. And don’t invite the two members of Congress because they’re Republicans.’ This individual also went on to claim that Administrator Guzman’s official travel is purposefully targeted to ‘indirectly campaign for Joe Biden.’
“On President Biden’s first day in office, Jen Psaki, then the White House Press Secretary, stated, ‘his objective and his commitment is to bring transparency and truth back to government—to share the truth, even when it’s hard to hear.’ Unfortunately for those Americans who seek truth and transparency from their government, the Biden Administration has stonewalled Congress, which forced the Committee to issue rare subpoenas to two aides of the SBA.”
“The issue at hand is pretty simple – the SBA has the ability to indirectly campaign for President Biden in the State of Michigan,” said Chairman Williams. “The fact the SBA has abandoned Main Street to focus on registering voters is a slap in the face to our small businesses who need assistance during these challenging economic times. This is a ridiculous – and likely illegal – use of taxpayer resources. I thank my Michigan colleagues for joining me in this effort, and we will not stop until the SBA is completely and totally forthcoming.”
---
“The United States is built upon the principle of free and fair elections, but the Biden administration seems to not care about upholding our democracy,” said Rep. McClain. “Instead, they’re using the taxpayer funded SBA to coordinate voter registration with Michigan’s Secretary of State. This is an unbelievable abuse of power that will ruin the integrity of our elections. I am gravely concerned about the SBA’s plot, and I will not rest until I get to the bottom of it.”
Read the story here.
Read the full letter here.
Read key excerpts from the letter below:
“We write today as members of both the Michigan congressional delegation and the House Committee on Small Business (the Committee) with great concern over the apparent and blatant weaponization of taxpayer resources to aid and abet President Biden’s re-election campaign in the state of Michigan. It appears the Biden Administration and your office have diverted funding away from supporting small businesses and used it for election purposes. This is unacceptable.
“In March of this year, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced both a Memorandum of Understanding and a Memorandum of Agreement (collectively referred to as the ‘MOU’) regarding voter registration with the Michigan Department of State (MDOS). The MOU detailed the level of coordination between the two entities with the claimed goal of boosting voter registration in the state. Specifically, the MOU details a plan to create a unique URL for the SBA’s website that will direct visitors to the state of Michigan’s voter registration page, obligates the SBA to provide voter registration training to all personnel conducting activities under the MOU, and states that the SBA may invite MDOS to various in-person events to allow MDOS to register attendees to vote.
“Perhaps even more egregious, the investigation conducted by the Committee found that 39 out of the 52 small business outreach events currently scheduled in Michigan from January through November 2024 coincidently take place in counties with the highest populations of demographics targeted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Additionally, 100 percent of the visits to Michigan from the SBA Administrator and Deputy Administrator have taken place in counties with the highest populations of DNC target demographics. While the SBA claims no actual voter registration efforts have occurred, it is curious that the SBA Administrator, appointed to help all small businesses thrive, has concentrated her efforts in areas key to the Biden campaign securing re-election.
“Furthermore, on April 17th, 2024, a special advisor to Administrator Guzman’s Chief of Staff was caught on camera saying, ‘anytime we go, we try to visit with a member of Congress if they’re a Democrat … because then we can help them get re-elected as well … the White House was like, yes, go. … Don’t invite the other senator because he’s a Republican. And don’t invite the two members of Congress because they’re Republicans.’ This individual also went on to claim that Administrator Guzman’s official travel is purposefully targeted to ‘indirectly campaign for Joe Biden.’
“On President Biden’s first day in office, Jen Psaki, then the White House Press Secretary, stated, ‘his objective and his commitment is to bring transparency and truth back to government—to share the truth, even when it’s hard to hear.’ Unfortunately for those Americans who seek truth and transparency from their government, the Biden Administration has stonewalled Congress, which forced the Committee to issue rare subpoenas to two aides of the SBA.”
