Small Business Administration Hearing

Ms. Velazquez (00:00):

… Small Business Index found 58% of small businesses say the economy has gotten worse, 42 points worse than January. 66% of small businesses believe tariffs are having a negative impact. 51% anticipate a recession, and a staggering 59% list economic uncertainty as their top challenge.

(00:29)
But the data only tells part of the story. We have heard from entrepreneurs across the country struggling to keep their doors open. The founder of Passion Footwear shared how the breadth and speed of tariffs are gutting everything she has built, almost overnight. LaJuanna Russell, the founder of Business Management Associates, launched her small business with $500, 20 years ago, and built it into a multimillion- dollar business. In February, she received stop work orders on numerous contracts, and so her business crumbled. She lost 55% of her company overnight, and had to let 15 employees go. It is hard for us to reconcile your Golden Age comments with the reality that small businesses are facing.

(01:24)
Today, we're looking for substantive answers. In a press release, you announced a plan to eliminate 2,700 employees, representing a 43% cut to agency staff. Yet, you never consulted Congress and other key stakeholders about the proposed reforms. Instead, you charged ahead on a path to disseminate the agency, erasing institutional knowledge, customer service, and leaving critical skill gaps. In March, the president announced SBA will take over the student loan portfolio, and you responded, "The SBA is prepared to restore accountability and integrity to the program." But where are student loans mentioned in the agency's mission? What does this have to do with assisting small firms? I want to know how you intend to take over the student loan portfolio when you are hollowing out the agency dedicated to small businesses, not education.

(02:29)
Turning to fraud, you have been quick to criticize the Biden administration's handling of the pandemic programs, while conveniently ignoring the fact that the vast majority of that fraud occurred under the first Trump administration's watch. And let's not forget, the president fired the inspector general who was present under his first administration, and has been applauded by members on both sides of the aisle in this committee. Despite numerous requests, we still have incomplete and insufficient responses to a variety of letters we have sent you. From DOGE and the reorganization, to closing regional offices and staffing, there has been no engagement. This lack of transparency underscores the need for robust congressional oversight. And then you propose a budget that eliminated 15 of the counseling and training programs, many of which support veterans, women, and underserved entrepreneurs, at a time when we should be expanding opportunity for those who serve our country. It's disgraceful that you are cutting the veterans' outreach programs, that helps veterans successfully transition into civilian life.

(03:48)
There is so much ground to cover, and I urge the Administrator to provide substantive information in her testimony, and answer our questions directly. Time is limited today, and we need answers to our questions that have gone ignored for months. I look forward to today's discussion, and for more in-depth ones in the future, as I have a feeling today's hearing will not be enough. Mr. Chairman, I yield back.

Mr. Williams (04:17):

Gentlelady yields back, and I will now introduce our witness, Administrator Loeffler.

(04:22)
Administrator Kelly Loeffler is the 28th Administrator of the Small Business Administration. Administrator Loeffler was the first in her family to graduate from college at the University of Illinois, and later received an MBA from DePaul University. Prior to entering the public sector, she had a very successful 25-year career in financial services and technology. She served in numerous leadership positions at Intercontinental Exchange, and is the founding and CEO of Bakkt. In 2020, she brought her private sector experience to the U.S. Senate, representing the great state of Georgia where she passed legislation to strengthen economic growth, and advocated for small businesses. Her experience as a businesswoman and senator makes her a great fit to lead the SBA, and to help small business across the country achieve the American dream. So I want to thank you again for taking time to testify before this committee today, and to now recognize Administrator Kelly Loeffler for her five-minute opening remarks.

Kelly Loeffler (05:20):

Good morning. Thank you, Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez, and members of the committee. I'm grateful to have the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the President's Fiscal Year 2026 discretionary budget request for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

(05:36)
This budget reflects our agency's return to its mission with a clear strategy. Streamline services, eliminate waste, and ensure every taxpayer dollar delivers measurable results for America's small businesses. It consolidates duplicative operations, shifts resources to our field offices who are on the front lines, and refocuses our agency on proven solutions, including our capital access program, and nationwide network of Small Business Development Centers. It reflects the president's belief that small businesses are not just part of the economy, they are the engine of it. And that, and to build a stronger, more secure, more prosperous America, we must put Main Street and our job creators first.

(06:21)
I'm pleased to report that under President Trump's leadership, and through the reforms we've implemented at the SBA, this is exactly what's happening. Main Street is making a historic comeback. Since January, President Trump has cut core inflation to its lowest level since 2021. He's secured over $11 trillion in private sector investment. He's delivered a half million new jobs while deregulating, after the last four years of massive bureaucratic expansion of the regulatory state. And he's brought dozens of countries, including China, back to the negotiating table for fair trade deals. Job creators and workers once again know they have a seat at the table, and they know that this administration has their back.

(07:05)
Our economy is spring-loaded for growth, especially on Main Street, and I'm pleased to report that the SBA has never been more prepared to help small businesses lead the America First economic comeback. Since January 20th, we've undertaken a sweeping overhaul of the agency to refocus it on its statutory mission of supporting small businesses and fueling economic growth, through free enterprise. We're cutting red tape, restoring accountability, and delivering capital to the job creators who empower opportunity, growth and innovation.

(07:38)
When we arrived, the SBA was bloated and dysfunctional, weighed down by work-from-home bureaucracy that promoted a partisan political agenda. The Biden administration presided over unprecedented levels of fraud, and four straight years of failed audits. Our flagship 7(a) loan program was mismanaged to the tune of $400 million of negative cashflow in just one year. Oversight and accountability had broken down, along with any sense of fiscal responsibility to taxpayers. Common sense had left the building along with our workforce. That era is over. It is a new day at the SBA.

(08:17)
I come to this role with three decades of private sector experience. Following an extensive review of the financials and operating metrics, I launched a full scale reorganization to right-size the agency, returning to pre-pandemic staffing levels. Our team is unleashing resources, that had been consolidated in Washington, back out into the field among our 68 district offices in local communities. We canceled wasteful contracts for total cost savings of more than $3 billion. I'm proud that we are working alongside the DOGE team who are not partisans, but patriots and business leaders like myself who are working to strengthen the future of our nation.

(08:58)
We also took urgent action to restore the financial integrity of our core loan programs by reinstating lender fees, and restoring underwriting standards, eliminating the reckless do-what-you-do criteria that put taxpayers on the hook for billions of dollars. And we implemented common sense identity and citizenship verification protocols to ensure that loans only go to eligible businesses, not illegal aliens or fraudsters. We made it a priority to depoliticize the agency, and in the era of picking winners and losers based on race or ideological beliefs, replacing it with our nation's strong tradition: free enterprise.

(09:38)
We eliminated DEI mandates, terminated the Green Lender initiative, and withdrew SBA from voter registration schemes. And we began relocating SBA offices out of sanctuary cities that refused to enforce federal immigration law. At the same time, we're helping rebuild American industry through the SBA's Made in America manufacturing initiative. We're backing new legislation to give small manufacturers additional capital, and just last month, we introduced a first-of-its-kind on-shoring portal to help small businesses find American-made supply chain partners.

(10:13)
The results are immediate, and measurable. In our first a hundred days, SBA loan approvals have skyrocketed by 80%, compared to the same time under the last administration, and 20% when compared to when the last administration left office. Loans to the smallest businesses, those with five or fewer employees, have nearly doubled. And the share of federal contracts going to small businesses is up to 23%, from just 18% in January.

(10:41)
So with new opportunity and as strong economic agenda, demand for capital is up, businesses are growing, and confidence is rising across the country. I'm proud to say that this is not the SBA of the past. This is a leaner, stronger, and unapologetically pro-small business agency, one that supports American industry and its workers, that respects taxpayer dollars and delivers results. I've seen the impact of these reforms firsthand, from Bay City to Boise, small business owners are expanding, hiring, and reinvesting in their communities. They know that, for the first time since the first Trump administration, this administration is on their side. The SBA is once again serving the people who built this country. Not the globalists, the bureaucrats, or partisan political interests, but the small defense manufacturers, the local construction companies, and the founders who are putting everything on the line to live the American Dream.

(11:37)
Chairman Williams, Ranking Member Velazquez, members of the committee. As a former small business owner and employee myself, I firmly believe in the dignity of work, the American dream, and the power of free enterprise that [inaudible 00:11:50] up every job creator and worker across this country. That's what guides our work at the SBA, and I am proud to say, it is also the vision that we're returning to at the SBA.

(12:01)
Thank you, and I look forward to your questions.

Mr. Williams (12:04):

We will now move to the member questions under the five-minute rule. I now recognize myself for five minutes.

(12:10)
Administrator Loeffler, I'm honored to work with you and President Trump to revitalize American manufacturing. And to fuel these efforts, I introduced H.R.3174, the Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act, along with Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chair Ernst, to increase access to capital for America's small manufacturers. Now, H.R.3174 increases the maximum SBA loan size for small manufacturers from five million to $10 million. This bill addressed a concern that members from both sides of the aisle have discussed.

(12:40)
So Administrator Loeffler, can you explain how increasing access to capital in SBA lending programs will actually help America's small manufacturers?

Kelly Loeffler (12:49):

Thank you, Chairman, and thank you for the opportunity to visit your district last week. It was wonderful to visit two manufacturers, Staccato and Ida Mae Home, it was really confirmative of our move to expand access to capital for manufacturers. We see that Made in America is happening, and it's growing across this country, but what we also see is that our great manufacturers, which there are thousands in everyone's home state, and they're growing. Is that advanced manufacturing, robotics, AI, there's a tremendous opportunity to increase productivity and growth through these factories, by allowing them to invest more. So doubling that loan from five million to 10 million will provide needed access, not just for capital equipment, but for hiring, and investing in R&D. Which is perfectly timed with the Big Beautiful Bill Act, which will encourage these manufacturers which are spring-loaded to invest and hire in this country. So it's all part of the administration's pro-growth, pro-worker agenda, that is going to fuel economic opportunity across every community in America.

(13:53)
So thank you, and I do hope to earn the bipartisan support of this committee for your important bill.

Mr. Williams (13:58):

Thank you. Now, one thing we know well in Texas… And one thing we know will in Texas, Washington DC does not know best. Now, the Biden-Harris administration expanded the SBA's mission to include actions unrelated to entrepreneurs, such as cutting deals with the State of Michigan to engage in electioneering efforts, in 2024. So how have you been right-sizing the SBA, and redirecting the agency back to its mission of helping Main Street America?

Kelly Loeffler (14:25):

Chairman, you're right. We uncovered the MOU that you referenced with the State of Michigan for electioneering, voter registration, and we've certainly heard from other states where that was attempted. We won't tolerate partisan activity, but we certainly must return to our mission of supporting small businesses on Main Street across this country, and not get distracted from that mission of serving small businesses. So we have undertaken an aggressive effort to [inaudible 00:14:56], our loan programs are more available to more entrepreneurs, that's already working. We have seen an 80% increase in our loan growth, to 26,000 loans in President Trump's first hundred days, so we're on track for a record year. That's about 2000 loans, to Main Street across America, every single week. So we're excited about that refocused mission of this agency.

Mr. Williams (15:19):

Thank you. Now you have an inspiring background that makes you incredibly well-positioned to fight for Main Street, as the head of the SBA. From businesswoman to senator, you have a unique perspective and knowledge based on what it takes for small businesses to thrive, and how important it is to foster an environment that allows small businesses to do what they do best. That's why it's critical to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and unleash American entrepreneurship. So in the time that I have remaining, can you explain why it is so important to preserve the favorable small business provisions?

Kelly Loeffler (15:52):

Chairman, you're right. I was raised in a fourth generation farm family, now five generations, they also started a small trucking company. Great entrepreneurs that never called themselves entrepreneurs, but had all the challenges. Facing taxation, excessive regulation. And this bill, what it does is return power to small businesses, by making sure their taxes stay low. And I was disappointed to see that every Democrat member of this committee voted against small business tax relief. What it does is provide small businesses that certainty that they will have a 23%, 199A pass-through deduction. They will have 179 expensing, accelerated depreciation, 100% expensing for made in America. And it comes with a $1.6 trillion spending cut that reduces the massive inflation and the cost of government in this country. That's what taxpayers voted for under President Trump. This bill is pro-small business, it's pro-worker, and it's pro-growth. So we, at the SBA, are proud to support it.

Mr. Williams (17:00):

Thank you very much. I now recognize, I have the remainder of my time. I now recognize the Ranking Member for five minutes of questions.

Ms. Velazquez (17:14):

Good morning, Administrator Loeffler. Members of this committee has sent you nine letters requesting information on the major changes at SBA. Our letters went unanswered, questions were ignored, and documents were not provided. We have the right to exercise oversight of the agency. So will you commit to responding fully and promptly to all oversight requests? Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (17:48):

Ranking Member, we've responded to every single letter, and we've been very focused on ensuring this agency's-

Ms. Velazquez (17:56):

This, here.

Kelly Loeffler (17:56):

transparency. We've put out numerous announcements-

Ms. Velazquez (17:59):

Yeah.

Kelly Loeffler (18:00):

… we've responded to every letter, to make sure that you have… I look forward to working with you.

Ms. Velazquez (18:03):

Great.

Kelly Loeffler (18:03):

I want to make sure that our small businesses have bipartisan support.

Ms. Velazquez (18:07):

So I want you to know that this type of response is unacceptable. That we expect for you to answer our questions point by point.

Kelly Loeffler (18:20):

Ranking Member, what I'd like-

Ms. Velazquez (18:20):

That's [inaudible 00:18:21] a real answer.

Kelly Loeffler (18:22):

What I'd like to say, is that what we're focused on is serving the needs of small business, and what we have done in the last a hundred days is make sure that small businesses know that we are there for them, for the very first time. This agency was working from home for four years.

Ms. Velazquez (18:36):

Reclaiming my time. I have too many-

Kelly Loeffler (18:36):

90% of the staff.

Ms. Velazquez (18:39):

Reclaiming my time. I have too many questions, and I waited this long to have this opportunity. Ms. Loeffler, how many employees resigned through the deferred resignation program in round one and two?

Kelly Loeffler (19:01):

Ranking Member, we have taken a very careful review of the agency to streamline it. The agency doubled under the Biden administration, during COVID, and never returned to the size that it was during the Trump-

Ms. Velazquez (19:13):

I just want to know the numbers. It's a question about how many employees?

Kelly Loeffler (19:16):

Yes, ma'am. At this point, we have reduced the agency headcount by 2,700 employees, returning it to the same size that it was during the first Trump administration, when small business was booming and we had the best economy in our lifetime.

Ms. Velazquez (19:29):

We have heard that the Office of Field Operations saw a 20% cut. Is that correct?

Kelly Loeffler (19:37):

No, ma'am. The Office of Field Operations had really been depleted under the Biden administration, consolidated back in Washington, and our small businesses were left without contacts on Main Street.

Ms. Velazquez (19:47):

Okay.

Kelly Loeffler (19:47):

90% of the staff was working from home.

Ms. Velazquez (19:50):

You say that is no, that the 20% is incorrect. So how many field offices are operating with a reduction of 25% or more employees, since January?

Kelly Loeffler (20:00):

Ranking member, what we found was that we had 35 offices across the country that had zero or one employee working in them. What we've done is streamlined and right-sized the agency to put our mission focus back on small businesses on Main Street, to make sure they have a critical-

Ms. Velazquez (20:18):

So what about-

Kelly Loeffler (20:18):

… mass of resources.

Ms. Velazquez (20:18):

Will you provide the committee with those numbers?

Kelly Loeffler (20:21):

Of course. We'd be happy to work with you-

Ms. Velazquez (20:23):

Thank you.

Kelly Loeffler (20:23):

… and share information.

Ms. Velazquez (20:23):

Will you provide the committee with copies of the agency Reduction In Force and reorganization plans that you submitted to OPM on March 13 and April 14, as well as the monthly reports, beginning with May?

Kelly Loeffler (20:38):

I think you'll find this is the most transparent administration that we've ever had in the history of-

Ms. Velazquez (20:43):

I'm not asking you if it's transparent or not.

Kelly Loeffler (20:44):

… [inaudible 00:20:45] we'll be happy-

Ms. Velazquez (20:44):

Will you submit to us?

Kelly Loeffler (20:46):

… we'll be happy to share-

Ms. Velazquez (20:47):

We have the right to know.

Kelly Loeffler (20:47):

… information with you-

Ms. Velazquez (20:48):

Okay, thank you.

Kelly Loeffler (20:48):

… as appropriate.

Ms. Velazquez (20:50):

I saw that you praised Elon Musk last week, in a tweet. And so, did you see Elon Musk's recent tweet saying that the Trump administration's "massive, outrageous, pork filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination"? Do you support his position on the reconciliation bill now?

Kelly Loeffler (21:17):

What I was shocked, was that every single Democratic member of this-

Ms. Velazquez (21:21):

Okay. You-

Kelly Loeffler (21:21):

… committee voted against-

Ms. Velazquez (21:22):

No, I'm not talking-

Kelly Loeffler (21:23):

… small tax-

Ms. Velazquez (21:23):

… we're not talking about-

Kelly Loeffler (21:24):

… small business tax cuts.

Ms. Velazquez (21:24):

… Democrats. We-

Kelly Loeffler (21:25):

It was-

Ms. Velazquez (21:26):

… Democrats voted against the bill, exactly because of the characterization of Elon Musk. So the ugly bill short-changed people in this country, taking, more than 700 million people will be affected by the cuts on Medicaid.

Kelly Loeffler (21:47):

Ranking Member, this is not true.

Ms. Velazquez (21:49):

My next, my next-

Kelly Loeffler (21:49):

The bill supports-

Ms. Velazquez (21:49):

If you… I asked you-

Kelly Loeffler (21:54):

… it's a tax cut bill that secures our border-

Ms. Velazquez (21:55):

Reclaiming my time.

Kelly Loeffler (21:57):

… and cuts $1.6 trillion in needless spending.

Ms. Velazquez (21:58):

You're talking about the Beautiful Bill, I'm talking about the ugly bill, and the characterization of Elon Musk. That was paraded on every meeting in the White House. He was good then. Now that he is sending a warning to the American people that this bill is going to bankrupt our federal government, you don't agree with that.

Kelly Loeffler (22:22):

Ranking Member Velazquez-

Ms. Velazquez (22:22):

I yield.

Kelly Loeffler (22:22):

… I'm-

Ms. Velazquez (22:23):

I yield back my time.

Kelly Loeffler (22:24):

I'm-

Mr. Williams (22:24):

Gentlelady yields back. I recognize Ms. Van Duyne, from the great state of Texas, for five minutes.

Ms. Van Duyne (22:30):

Administrator, thank you so much for being here today, and I really appreciated spending time with you in Texas, and all of the small businesses that she visited while you were down there. I think they loved seeing you. It was great that, so early in your term, that you have gotten all around the country. I applaud you for that, because I know it's not easy for you and your family. I love the focus, though. I like the responsiveness.

(22:49)
You were just asked questions about this One Big Beautiful Bill. Can you tell me a little bit, how this one big beautiful bill helps small businesses, and why it was shocking to see every single Democrat including those on the Small Business Committee, vote against it?

Kelly Loeffler (23:04):

Absolutely. Thank you, Congresswoman. I appreciated the opportunity to be with you in your great district, and visit manufacturers that are really making a difference in America, and look forward to continuing to meet with more small businesses across the committee's constituencies.

(23:20)
The Big Beautiful Bill Act is vitally important to Main Street America. It's pro-growth, it's pro-small business, and it's pro-worker. We have never had a bill like this in our country that ensures that small businesses can thrive with a 23% pass-through deduction, immediate expensing. It ensures that we start to cut spending $1.6 trillion in mandatory spending, that drove inflation that small businesses were crushed by under the last administration.

(23:51)
It secures the border. Small businesses have been suffering from crime in their communities. Needless crime, that went unenforced. So this is really a dream bill, and for small businesses, it prevents a nightmare happening that every Democratic member of this committee voted for, to raise taxes on small businesses, trillions of dollars, by 23%. Small businesses could not make it through a 22% tax increase, and so I'm really grateful for the support of this bill, and look forward to continued reductions in spending and taxes.

Ms. Van Duyne (24:27):

So I've been working with small businesses for about 20 years now, and I have never heard them say, "We want to have more regulations," right? "We need the government to get out of our way."

(24:35)
Over the last four years, under the Biden administration, we have seen $1.8 trillion in additional new regulations. The only thing that I've heard from my Democrat colleagues is talking about the tariffs. Now, you have talked to small businesses across this country, I know you have. Tell me how tariffs are actually helping the small business community.

Kelly Loeffler (24:54):

Absolutely. When we've gone across the country, literally from New York to California, to Utah to Tennessee to Texas, to New Jersey, Pennsylvania, small businesses are investing and growing, but they say they have three big challenges. Regulation is always one of those three. Workforce is always one of those three, and the threat of rising taxes. And so small businesses are grateful that they now can have the commitment of fair trade, something that they could have never dreamed of under the Biden administration, who was pushing more and more trade imbalance. We had a $1.2 trillion trade imbalance in this country in one year, that had grown by 20%. That meant small businesses were being robbed of opportunity while countries around the world erect barriers against our small businesses.

(25:45)
I visited one logistics operator in New Jersey that said that he used to have 50/50 import/export. It had gone to 90% import, 10% export, shutting small businesses out of markets around this world. Small businesses can now compete on a level playing field, thanks to President Trump's fair trade agenda.

Ms. Van Duyne (26:04):

Thank you very much. Yesterday, the Rules Committee favorably reported my American Entrepreneurs First Act, which would codify President Trump's executive order, and your new rule, by the way. That all SBA loan applicants have their age and citizenship status verified. Last night, in Rules, I was told by a number of my Democrat colleagues that, "We have absolutely no experience with this at all. We don't have any evidence that there has been any kind of use of illegal immigrants receiving SBA funds."

(26:32)
What have you found?

Kelly Loeffler (26:34):

Congresswoman, thank you for the question, it's really important that everyone in this committee hear this. The DOGE team did help us identify $630 million of fraudulent loans that were granted to individuals over the age of 120, or under the age of 11. That's why, absolutely, it's critical that we have age verification. We also found SBA loans to non-citizens. We were able to cancel those, they were approved under the Biden administration. That's why we need citizenship verification.

Ms. Van Duyne (27:03):

We also heard some questions about your new rule, that you want to be able to move SBA offices out of areas that are sanctuary cities. Can you say anything about that, and the importance of it?

Kelly Loeffler (27:16):

Well, it's vitally important. We just saw yesterday in Boston, one of the sanctuary cities that we'll be leaving, 1400 illegals, gang bangers, traffickers, sex offenders were arrested. We cannot support cities that don't support federal law, and I'm grateful to ICE and Secretary Noem for advancing these efforts.

Ms. Van Duyne (27:38):

Thank you very much for your testimony. And I yield back.

Mr. Williams (27:41):

Gentlelady yields back. I now recognize Ms. Scholten from the great state of Michigan, for five minutes.

Ms. Scholten (27:45):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Administrator Loeffler, thank you so much for joining us here today.

(27:51)
I'm hearing from a lot of small business owners in my district who are feeling the deep uncertainty of our nation's economy right now. I find it deeply concerning that in the midst of trade wars, and fluctuating tariff policies, that questionably seem to benefit certain segments of the population over others. That in the midst of all this uncertainty and speculation about inside deals, your agency fired its independent inspector general, Mr. Ware, without proper notice to Congress.

(28:27)
This is an independent watchdog who is responsible for uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse in the district. Firing him does not do anything to alleviate the concerns of small businesses in my district. This is a fact that has raised concerns, again, about what type of inside dealings are happening within the Small Business Administration? Who's getting preferential treatment? That is why I am introducing a bill today that would protect inspectors general from political retaliation, to avoid illegal actions like this in the future. Ms. Loeffler, can you please describe the process currently for finding a new inspector general, and the status there?

Kelly Loeffler (29:22):

Well, we're certainly in the process of filling that role, it's an important role. And it's important to know that-

Ms. Scholten (29:26):

What's your deadline for trying to find someone, and get a new independent inspector general in place?

Kelly Loeffler (29:33):

We're already working through it, and we'll have more information over to you soon.

Ms. Scholten (29:37):

What have you done to date, to make that happen?

Kelly Loeffler (29:38):

We've identified candidates, and we're working through that nomination process, so we'll [inaudible 00:29:42]-

Ms. Scholten (29:42):

When do you expect to have someone in place?

Kelly Loeffler (29:43):

The role is incredibly important, but let me just say, the president had every right-

Ms. Scholten (29:45):

Well, if it's incredibly important, the seat has been vacant after a political firing to remove an independent watchdog.

Kelly Loeffler (29:51):

I do not agree with that premise. That's incorrect.

Ms. Scholten (29:51):

We all care about waste, fraud and abuse-

Kelly Loeffler (29:53):

That is incorrect.

Ms. Scholten (29:54):

… Ms. Loeffler. Reclaiming my time. We all care about waste, fraud and abuse. That's the purpose of an independent watchdog in this agency. And you fired him, and left this position vacant. What is your timeline for getting this individual replaced?

Kelly Loeffler (30:07):

We will have an individual in the seat as soon as it's confirmed in the Senate, but I can tell you, the Inspector General-

Ms. Scholten (30:12):

When do you expect to have a nominee for the Senate?

Kelly Loeffler (30:13):

… overlooked massive fraud, over the last four years. We want to get to the bottom of fraud. We want to make sure-

Ms. Scholten (30:18):

How are you going to do that without an independent watchdog?

Kelly Loeffler (30:19):

And the last administration tried to forgive fraud-

Ms. Scholten (30:21):

What is your timeline for getting a new-

Kelly Loeffler (30:22):

… we are not going to allow, having-

Ms. Scholten (30:23):

Ms. Loeffler.

Kelly Loeffler (30:24):

… an inspector general that-

Ms. Scholten (30:24):

What is your timeline for getting a new nomination?

Kelly Loeffler (30:26):

We will have one as soon as we can get the position confirmed. And we are working through it.

Ms. Scholten (30:30):

You need a nominee before you can get the confirmation.

Kelly Loeffler (30:32):

Yeah. We'll be glad to work with your office, once we have a clearer timeline. It's an independent office, and we've identified-

Ms. Scholten (30:37):

We know it's an independent office, which is why it is critically important. What steps will you take to ensure that this individual can, in fact, operate in an independent nature?

Kelly Loeffler (30:47):

We actually need this position to be filled, because the last inspector general overlooked massive fraud that was trying to be forgiven, on taxpayer money by the administration. Which was-

Ms. Scholten (31:00):

Ms. Loeffler, then it would seem incumbent-

Kelly Loeffler (31:00):

… completely wrong, so-

Ms. Scholten (31:02):

… to make sure that you have an individual-

Kelly Loeffler (31:05):

Yeah. We will have-

Ms. Scholten (31:05):

… immediately in this place.

Kelly Loeffler (31:07):

We will have an individual, but we will have an individual who does the job.

Ms. Scholten (31:07):

Well, our office will be following up to make sure.

Kelly Loeffler (31:09):

We will have an individual who actually does the job.

Ms. Scholten (31:11):

And we would love your support in making sure that this bill-

Kelly Loeffler (31:14):

Look forward to working with you on it.

Ms. Scholten (31:15):

… can make it through Congress. We are hoping it will be a bipartisan bill to ensure the independent nature of this office.

(31:21)
I have one more question. My district is home to an incredible women's business center called Grow. It has made remarkable investments in our small business community, deploying over 55 loans totaling over half a million dollars in just one year. The president's current budget proposal would eliminate women's business centers like Grow, leaving many entrepreneurs, particularly women, without the financial and technical support that they need to grow their businesses.

(31:50)
At a time when this administration, and your own remarks have said, that they are going on an attack on, quote, "DEI," many women feel incredibly attacked by this administration, and unable to support their businesses. I convened a women business owners' roundtable in my district, and that was one of the number one concerns that women said that they had, right now, with the attacks from this administration. What steps will the SBA take to ensure that these small businesses are made aware of any changes, and to protect these critical services?

Kelly Loeffler (32:24):

Congresswoman, the top concerns I hear from the business owners I meet across the country, are ensuring that taxes stay low. You just voted to increase their taxes. Our efforts at the SBA are streamlining our services to ensure that there's not confusion. If you're, let's say you're a woman veteran, which-

Ms. Scholten (32:43):

To be clear, let's put a pass through on there that actually supports and prioritizes small businesses, and I think we'd get unanimous bipartisan support from this committee. But we know, overwhelmingly, the benefits went to the large corporations. Not the small businesses.

Kelly Loeffler (32:55):

That's not true.

Ms. Scholten (32:55):

Thank you. I yield back my time.

Speaker 1 (32:55):

That's not true.

Mr. Williams (32:56):

The gentlelady yields back, and let me take a moment of personal preference. The Administrator's last name is pronounced Loeffler, so. I now recognize Mr. Ellzey, from the great state of Texas, for five minutes.

Mr. Ellzey (33:11):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Administrator. Before we start our talk, I'd just like to point out that I think it's ironic that it's critically important, now, to have an inspector general in place. When we watched the SBA and the previous administration waste billions and billions of dollars, that I didn't hear the other side arguing that it's critically important that that inspector general get to work and find that money. It's gone. We're never getting it back. So let's take a little step back, and not be too hasty to say it's critically important, now. It has been critically important, but it wasn't critically important a year ago.

(33:49)
Thank you for being here, Administrator Loeffler, thank you for coming to the state of Texas to see a small business in our neck of the woods, in North Texas. You could be doing a whole lot of other things, but instead, you're going out throughout the country to visit small businesses that are benefiting from your agency.

(34:07)
If you've cut 2,700 people, and you've increased the loans approval rate 80%, I think that's exactly what the American people elected this administration, and Donald Trump appointed you to do, for small businesses in this country. You come from a small town of 600, raised on a soybean farm. You had to mortgage some of your own land to go to business school. So you grew up, along with three members of my staff, one of whom, JR over here is from Marion. My deputy chief is from another small town around there. It's people like you who have a vested interest in small businesses in the United States, because that's how you were raised. Your parents sent you college on cement thin margins as soybean farmers, so you know exactly what is required at this job. Your predecessor

Mr. Ellzey (35:00):

… was an administrator and a consultant. You know exactly what you're talking about. So your expertise is extremely important. So tell me, we noticed when we did a surprise trip to the SBA under the previous administration, they had trouble finding people to sit at the desks. What has your policy been on requiring people to come back to work?

Kelly Loeffler (35:22):

Thank you, Congressman Diaz. Wonderful to be with you in the district and you raised a number of important issues. Certainly, Inspector General is something I think we all agree on. We need to have someone in that seat that will actually do the job and we have sent that individual to the Senate and are just waiting the Senate confirmation. So while I can't confirm the specific date and can't speak for the Senate, I can confirm that we all agree that accountability is vital.

(35:49)
What I can tell you about small businesses is as I travel across this country is they're grateful to President Trump for fighting for them finally, to have fair trade, to ensure that small businesses compete on a level playing field for the first time in three decades. And one of the things that we're seeing certainly is the access to capital is growing because of our efforts to streamline the agency and get rid of the bureaucracy that was preventing small businesses from being a focus of the agency. It was impossible to touch a small business when I first got to the agency because there was so much bureaucracy and the agency had doubled during the Biden administration.

(36:32)
When I walked in, 90% of the staff had been working from home for four years and I filmed that. I put a video out. It had 3,000,000 views. We now have most of the staff back in office. We're streamlining the agency to refocus on small businesses and it's working.

Mr. Ellzey (36:50):

Up here in Congress, it seems that all these administrative jobs, it's a jobs program for GSs. That's not what the American people are paying for. It's their money. And so therefore, people going back to work at the SBA to provide small loans for small businesses with five or fewer employees is exactly what you're supposed to be doing. So is there a correlation between telling people, "You're fired if you're not working," and the increase in the uptick in going back to work, but also the increase in loans approved?

Kelly Loeffler (37:22):

Well, certainly, there are mission-minded individuals at the SBA and I'm grateful for the good individuals at this agency. And I'm thrilled that we've put 30% of our staffing back out in the field. You're right, it had consolidated up in Washington under bureaucracy and administrative rules and rules that really wrecked the loan program. So we've right-sized the agency and reshuffled the loan program back to what it was under the Trump administration when it worked and wasn't going into fault and costing taxpayers billions of dollars.

Mr. Ellzey (37:52):

I'd finally like to thank you with the time remaining. I thank you for being a very successful business person, pulling yourself up by your bootstraps and you can do anything you want with your life right now. You're giving back to the American people by taking on this very, very difficult job. And furthermore, you're leaving Washington to go out and visit these businesses that they are going to be getting the benefits of what you're doing. So thank you very much. I yield back, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Williams (38:17):

Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Ms. McIver from the great State of New Jersey for five minutes.

Ms. McIver (38:23):

Thank you, Chairman and Ranking Member for convening this hearing today, and thank you to the administrator for being here with us finally. We've been waiting for months for you to get here. I do agree. It is a new day at the SBA, a new depressing day. Since this administration began, we have heard almost non-stop, concerns from small business owners fighting for their business' survivals, all while the SBA cuts staff, plans to take on more than $1 trillion student loan portfolio and removes critical needed resources from communities across the country.

(38:59)
Administrator, you should be working with us as well too on the Democratic side to support our small businesses. You mentioned you came to New Jersey. Next time, give us a call. We'll love to be with you as well, like our members across the aisle have been. I led several of my New Jersey and New York colleagues [inaudible 00:39:17] to your department expressing concern that your plan to remove SBA offices from so-called sanctuary cities would negatively affect my state and the surrounding region, which contributes trillions to the national GDP.

(39:32)
In response, you sent the letter describing these concerns as concerns for illegal aliens and characterizing these communities as criminal sanctuary cities. As Head of SBA, do you care at all for expelling entrepreneurs in these communities you so-called labeled them as sanctuary cities? Do you care? Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (39:53):

Congressman, I'm deeply concerned about our cities that-

Ms. McIver (39:56):

Do you care? Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (39:57):

Yes, absolutely, but I'm also [inaudible 00:40:01].

Ms. McIver (40:01):

Okay. Yes. I'll take that as a yes. Do you commit right here to stop your plans to do away with the resources many of these businesses rely on? Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (40:09):

Congressman, we're streamlining-

Ms. McIver (40:10):

Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (40:10):

-- our resources to ensure that offices that have-

Ms. McIver (40:12):

No. I'll take that as a no because obviously you don't care. These are businesses that are not labeled as Democratic or Republican. You're going to hurt all businesses by doing something like this. You mentioned working with DOGE to identify what you called illegal loans to undocumented people. However, even after requests from us to review DOGE access, we have had silence, complete silence from you and your office, and now we hear about this case. Will you commit to allow members and committee staff an in-camera review of these cases? Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (40:45):

We will commit to working with… So you understand the importance of the cuts that-

Ms. McIver (40:51):

Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (40:51):

… streamlining.

Ms. McIver (40:51):

Yes? Do I hear yes or no? Okay.

Kelly Loeffler (40:54):

We'll absolutely look forward to working with you. [inaudible 00:40:56]

Ms. McIver (40:55):

Okay, let's take that as a yes. We'll wait on the response. I'm reclaiming my time. On February 3rd, I have a lot of questions, Administrator, no disrespect, but we've been waiting for you for months. So you have to let me get through my questions. On February 3rd, 2025, Musk and Trump's DOGE team invaded the SBA and gained access to SBA systems, including its human resources, contract and payment systems. This type of access to government systems by unauthorized, unvetted individuals is unprecedented. The committee continues to request specific information on the level of DOGE access to SBA systems that you have not provided, yet you regularly cite the information that DOGE releases about SBA that appears to be obtained from those systems. What SBA system did DOGE access?

Kelly Loeffler (41:43):

Congressman, the premise of your question is entirely false. Our DOGE partner is an SBA employee who has been vetted, as has the entire team.

Ms. McIver (41:52):

Administrator, did DOGE gain access to employee personnel files?

Kelly Loeffler (41:55):

Congressman, this is exactly what frustrates small businesses.

Ms. McIver (41:57):

Did DOGE gain access to employee personnel files?

Kelly Loeffler (41:59):

[inaudible 00:42:00].

Ms. McIver (42:00):

Yes or no? These are yes or no questions, Administrator. Okay? I'll take that as a yes if you're not responding.

Kelly Loeffler (42:05):

[inaudible 00:42:07].

Ms. McIver (42:08):

I'm reclaiming my time. Did DOGE gain access to the personnel identifiable information of small businesses?

Kelly Loeffler (42:14):

Congressman, we have-

Ms. McIver (42:16):

Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (42:17):

We have followed every law-

Ms. McIver (42:17):

It's yes or no, Administrator.

Kelly Loeffler (42:18):

… and we will continue to follow the law as an SBA employee.

Ms. McIver (42:20):

Okay, I'm going to take that as you not answering.

Kelly Loeffler (42:20):

But we just saw a USA employee arrested-

Ms. McIver (42:20):

I'm reclaiming my time. I'm reclaiming my time. What information was obtained and what is it being used for?

Kelly Loeffler (42:30):

Congressman, we'd be happy to work with you. We've been very transparent about the cost reductions-

Ms. McIver (42:35):

No, you haven't Administrator.

Kelly Loeffler (42:36):

… the streamlining we've been doing at the agencies.

Ms. McIver (42:37):

Can you answer the question?

Kelly Loeffler (42:38):

We 35 empty offices. We've talked about those-

Ms. McIver (42:41):

It's a yes or no question.

Kelly Loeffler (42:42):

We have 11 data centers that we don't need. We need one data center.

Ms. McIver (42:45):

Yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (42:45):

We have $3 billion of contracts [inaudible 00:42:47].

Ms. McIver (42:46):

Administrator, you're saying a lot without saying anything at all. We're trying to get answers to our questions.

Kelly Loeffler (42:51):

No, this is so that we can focus on small businesses. The bureaucracy is strangling small businesses.

Ms. McIver (42:56):

With that, I yield back. The Administrator does not answer my questions. We've been waiting for months to get answers to these questions. You're saying a lot but you're not saying anything at all. With that, I yield back.

Mr. Williams (43:07):

Gentlelady yields back. I now recognize Mr. Alford from the great State of Missouri for five minutes.

Mr. Alford (43:11):

Administrator Loeffler, would you like to answer that question, please?

Kelly Loeffler (43:15):

Thank you, Congressman. The work that we've done in partnership with DOGE is based on data. As a businesswoman, I am calling the shots at SBA, but I can tell you the work that our DOGE partners who are employees of the federal government who have been vetted, have been tremendously helpful in helping us streamline the agency to ensure that small business is the focus of this agency. It was a bloated bureaucracy that was costing taxpayers billions of excess dollars that didn't produce results for small businesses. We're getting back to that focus and ensuring that we're getting to the bottom of the fraud that the Biden administration tried to sweep under the rug, and we're going to continue to do that work and in service of taxpayers and small businesses.

Mr. Alford (44:01):

Well, thank you, and I do appreciate you being here. And it's been a lot of outcry from our friends on the other side of the aisle that you're finally here. They've been asking you for a long time. It's taken so long. You've been on the job 104 days. Why did you want to come here now? You've made so many positive changes to the SBA. There's a lot you still have to do, but why did you want to come here specifically now?

Kelly Loeffler (44:27):

Thank you Congressman Alford. I am really excited to be with all of you. I hope that we can work together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that small businesses are served. They represent 99% of all businesses and as I've… In my first 100 days as you mentioned, I've been here 104 days, about three months in a week, making sure that I hear from small businesses so that my viewpoints can be informed by what's actually happening on the ground. And it's quite different from the viewpoint espoused by your Democratic colleagues on the other side because what's happening on Main Street is tremendous growth and the SBA is proud to be part of that.

(45:05)
Last week, I was in Texas, working with veterans, visiting manufacturers, ensuring that I understand the priorities of small businesses. And so I'm here to share those viewpoints. Obviously, some of my viewpoints aren't welcome and they may not like the answers, but we are going to be very transparent about what we're doing to serve small businesses and I look forward to talking about that with you.

Mr. Alford (45:27):

Well, I'm just pleased that we have a cooperation from the current Administrator, one that we really did not have with your predecessor, which was very disappointing, but I know you have a spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship and that's what this committee is about. I don't want to see it devolve into something other than that and under the leadership of the Chair and the Ranking Member, hopefully that will not. Why is it so important that we pass the Returning SBA to Main Street Act?

Kelly Loeffler (45:56):

Well, certainly, the SBA's focus had been really politicized historically in the last four years. We saw DEI, Green New Deal initiatives, focusing back on our Main Street job creators, getting them the capital that they need, ensuring the integrity of those programs, make sure that they're there for the future, but also so that small businesses aren't confused about the services available to them. That they're very clear about the lending that the SBA guarantees, that we have good lending partnerships, as well as great counseling partners in our small business development centers. So I look forward to ensuring that we have great opportunities to make permanent some of the things that we're doing at the SBA through legislation.

Mr. Alford (46:46):

I want to thank you for updating the SBA's SOP to include language inspired by our bill, the Small Business Technological Advancement Act to allow 7(a) bars to utilize their loan for digital tools. What other actions are you taking at the SBA to help small businesses thrive in a digital age?

Kelly Loeffler (47:03):

Yeah, certainly, the growth that I've seen as we go out on our manufacturing tour of advanced manufacturing. The sophistication of our supply chain is increasing, which is raising the cost of investing in manufacturing and all small businesses. The technology tools are great ways to increase efficiency and productivity at small businesses, so increasing our loan sizes from $5 million to $10 million for manufacturers will help really ensure that an environment that is spring-loaded for investment in capital, that they have those resources available through loans backed by the SBA.

Mr. Alford (47:42):

Thank you. I have about 30 seconds left. I want to correct the record from previous questions. The population of America is about 330,000,000. And so it would be impossible for 700,000,000 to be harmed from the legislation we're putting forth. Do you plan on coming back to testify?

Kelly Loeffler (48:00):

I would love to. I very much support the opportunity to share in a bipartisan manner the work of the SBA and to ensure great transparency and collaboration.

Mr. Alford (48:12):

Thank you. I yield back.

Mr. Williams (48:14):

Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Dr. Morrison from the great State of Minnesota for five minutes.

Dr. Morrison (48:20):

Thank you, Chairman Williams, and thank you, Administrator Loeffler, for taking time to testify today. Time's short. So I'm going to jump right in. Were you consulted on President Trump's tariff policy?

Kelly Loeffler (48:34):

Congresswoman, I certainly stay in constant dialogue with President Trump. There is no stronger advocate of small business than President Trump. He knows that small business is big business, and he also knows that small businesses have been incredibly disadvantaged by unfair trade policy, by an unlevel playing field that not only disadvantaged [inaudible 00:48:54].

Dr. Morrison (48:54):

Thank you, Administrator. So I assume you support President Trump's tariff policy. I guess if you could call it a policy.

Kelly Loeffler (49:00):

Well, I would say that it's a fair trade policy that has not been in place for 30 years, has created a massive disadvantage for all Americans.

Dr. Morrison (49:08):

Thank you, Administrator. Are you aware of the tariff exemption that President Trump announced on April 11th for smartphones, laptops and televisions?

Kelly Loeffler (49:16):

Yes, Congresswoman.

Dr. Morrison (49:17):

Do you support this exemption?

Kelly Loeffler (49:19):

I support the President's actions to ensure that we have fair trade and that's what-

Dr. Morrison (49:23):

Would you support a tariff exemption for small businesses?

Kelly Loeffler (49:28):

What I support is a level playing field for small businesses-

Dr. Morrison (49:31):

Respectfully, ma'am, just a yes or no.

Kelly Loeffler (49:32):

Can I just say, this is what our small businesses have been up against, this book, 400 pages of unfair trade practices [inaudible 00:49:39]

Dr. Morrison (49:39):

Respectfully, Administrator, yes or no, would you support an exemption for small businesses from the trade war?

Kelly Loeffler (49:44):

I support ensuring our small businesses never have to advocate against this again.

Dr. Morrison (49:46):

I'll take that as a no. Administrator, the US Chamber of Commerce has asked the administration for an exemption for small businesses. Small businesses in my state and across the country are asking for an exemption. Senator Curtis even said to you when you testified in front of the Senate Small Business Committee that small businesses are being hurt by the tariffs and the uncertainty. Without an exemption, they're going to be forced to raise prices for consumers, layoff staff out of business. I think it's completely unacceptable that this administration is willing to give exemptions to massive tech corporations who have the resources to lobby the president while disregarding the outcries of small businesses.

(50:25)
From so many small business owners who are in disbelief, they're frustrated, they're scared that everything they've worked so hard for to build is going to be taken away from them. I urge you to do everything you can to advocate for a tariff exemption for our small businesses as the Small Business Administrator, our nation's leading advocate for small businesses.

Kelly Loeffler (50:45):

Congressman, our president is negotiating fair trade for the first time in 30 years. Who is advocating for the American worker from industry? The president is.

Dr. Morrison (50:53):

Please, Administrator.

Kelly Loeffler (50:53):

30 years of 5,000,000 job losses.

Dr. Morrison (50:54):

Small businesses need an exemption from the tariff war. Okay, I want to turn to our veteran-owned small business owners. I have the honor of serving on the Veterans Affairs Committee and I'm the wife of an army combat veteran. In March, we learned that VA canceled over $2 billion in contracts. Reporting suggests that 90% of the canceled contracts were with veteran-owned small businesses and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses. I joined my colleagues on this committee and the Veterans Affairs Committee and sending a letter to Secretary Collins to determine how many small business owners were impacted by these contract cuts. We have not received a reply yet from the VA.

(51:27)
The SBA may not administer these contracts, but these are small businesses being affected and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned small business program is an SBA program. Are you keeping track of how many contracts with Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses or Veteran-Owned Small Businesses the VA canceled?

Kelly Loeffler (51:44):

For the first time in four years, this administration is back focusing on veterans. We have seen veterans elected under the last-

Dr. Morrison (51:48):

Administrator, how many small businesses are being impacted by these cuts?

Kelly Loeffler (51:52):

Congressman, we're partnering with the VA who the president… Veterans will be better off under President Trump. He increased their budget by $5 million-

Dr. Morrison (52:00):

Administrator, what is the SBA doing to support the veteran-owned small businesses and Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses impacted by these contract cuts?

Kelly Loeffler (52:09):

I'm the daughter and granddaughter of veterans. I served on the Veterans Affairs Committee in the Senate as well. We are making sure that our veterans are-

Dr. Morrison (52:16):

Ma'am, respectfully, will you commit working with Secretary Collins to get us this information, please?

Kelly Loeffler (52:20):

Absolutely.

Dr. Morrison (52:20):

Thank you.

Kelly Loeffler (52:21):

I just entered into an MOU with Secretary Collins to ensure that there is that partnership and I look forward to delivering real results-

Dr. Morrison (52:28):

Thank you.

Kelly Loeffler (52:28):

… and what was a Joint Base San Antonio last week with veterans [inaudible 00:52:31].

Dr. Morrison (52:31):

Wonderful. One final question. You say you're focusing on field operations to improve delivery and support to small businesses, especially in rural areas, but you cut the district office workforce by more than 20%. So how do you reconcile the cuts with more support and access to reliable and timely customer service?

Kelly Loeffler (52:47):

Well, I reject the idea that we've cut the field. We've returned people to the field, 90% of who are working from home and not even in the field. So we're strengthening our field organization. We're streamlining it to ensure that they're focused on small businesses.

Dr. Morrison (53:00):

And have you appointed anyone to head up the [inaudible 00:53:02] yet?

Kelly Loeffler (53:03):

Yes, Congresswoman. We have.

Dr. Morrison (53:05):

Wonderful. Looking forward to hearing more about that. There's been a characterization of the way the minority voted on the ridiculously named One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and I just would like to point out that the majority actually voted to take healthcare away from kids and moms, voted to explode the national debt and voted to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest among us. Thank you for being here today, Administrator Loeffler, and I yield the remainder of my time.

Mr. Williams (53:35):

Gentlelady yields back. I now recognize Mr. LaLota from the great State of New York for five minutes.

Mr. Lalota (53:39):

Thank you, Chairman. Administrator, good to see you. How are you? Administrator, before you were the Head of the SBA, you earned an MBA, you were a CFA chart holder, you founded a FinTech company and you served in the US Senate. Is that right?

Kelly Loeffler (53:52):

That's correct.

Mr. Lalota (53:53):

And you've been the Head of the SBA for about four months now?

Kelly Loeffler (53:56):

Three months in a week.

Mr. Lalota (53:57):

I think somebody's said 170 days. That's pretty neat.

Kelly Loeffler (54:00):

That's right.

Mr. Lalota (54:01):

And you've been pretty busy. You've been touring the country, supporting America's small businesses on your Made in America road show.

Kelly Loeffler (54:09):

That's right, Congressman. We got to see you out in New York, which was wonderful to see all the manufacturing happening on Long Island.

Mr. Lalota (54:15):

And isn't it true that of all the places you've visited, Long Island was the best place you visited?

Kelly Loeffler (54:19):

It's certainly memorable. It's important.

Speaker 3 (54:21):

I object.

Mr. Lalota (54:24):

I hate to put you on the spot, but when you were on Long Island, do you remember the technology company, Orbbec, that we met?

Kelly Loeffler (54:30):

I do, Congressman.

Mr. Lalota (54:33):

It's an American company located on Long Island, and they do what many Trump trade policy critics say can't be done in the United States of America. They make technology products like smartphones, laptops and tablets. Madam Administrator, I'm certain that you and I agree that President Trump is right to want to protect our supply chain from international disruptions and bring manufacturing back to America. My question is what can the SBA do to help small businesses like Orbbec who help accomplish those worthy goals?

Kelly Loeffler (55:08):

Well, we certainly see manufacturing growing across this country. Our loan volume in our 7(a) program for manufacturers is up 74% in President Trump's first 100 days, demonstrating an investment in manufacturing like never before. Over 1,120 loans. Certainly saw that taking place on Long Island and that's why I'm grateful for the Chairman's leadership on the Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act, which I hope in this committee would be bipartisan to get more capital in the hands of our innovators, those that are providing jobs and production of critical technologies like 5G and cellphones and other infrastructure that this country so greatly needs, and we'll continue to work through that.

(55:55)
Recently, we launched our onshoring portal for small businesses. It's made available on the SBA website for small businesses to source products domestically. It lists over 1,000,000 domestically sourced manufacturing sources to strengthen supply chains domestically. So those are just some of the things we're focused on.

Mr. Lalota (56:16):

Administrator, that portal's great. For the folks who will watch this later on YouTube or wherever else, where can they access that portal?

Kelly Loeffler (56:23):

It can be found on our homepage at sba.gov, and you click into the portal and you can choose from three private sector databases that list all kinds of products, produce, even production materials and sourcing domestically is the focus of that portal.

Mr. Lalota (56:42):

And when you Google Make Onshoring Great Again, it gets you to your website. Is there any fee charge or is there a sign-up barrier to access that portal?

Kelly Loeffler (56:52):

There's no cost. It's made available through the SBA's resources.

Mr. Lalota (56:56):

Love it. I was on it this morning. I think that many of my constituents and small business owners will gain from that. Shifting gears, you were cut off several times when responding to the Ranking Member and others questioning. I wanted to give you some time to reply, first on the number of staff at the SBA. My friends from the other side of the aisle are criticizing you for bringing that number of SBA employees to 2,700. Madam Administrator, why is 2,700 the right number?

Kelly Loeffler (57:23):

Well, our reductions total 2,700. The total staff would be 3,800 post reductions and certainly, that excludes our disaster operations, would scale up and down and certainly have been incredibly responsive, already putting out more disaster loans, $3.4 billion in disaster loans operating across 1,300 counties in this country right now, 25 disasters. So we're scaling that very well, but bigger is not more efficient and what we're finding is that as we reduce bureaucracy, we get more focused on small business and results are in the loan numbers that you see. We're more productive. Small businesses are telling me in the field that they see that we are back after a long hiatus and we're going to be able to innovate and become even more productive for small businesses at that level.

Mr. Lalota (58:15):

Great, I appreciate that. And bringing us back to a pre-pandemic number I think is right for America. Of wage growth, GDP growth, inflation rates, number of valid loans made, and number of SBA employees, of those five, which is the least valuable [inaudible 00:58:33] to analyze the SBA's performance?

Kelly Loeffler (58:35):

Number of SBA employees.

Mr. Lalota (58:37):

Thank you. I yield back.

Speaker 2 (58:39):

Thank you very much. I now recognize Mr. Tran from California for five minutes.

Mr. Tran (58:43):

Thank you, Chairwoman. Madam Administrator, good morning. Welcome. Thank you for being here. The Ranking Member of Alaska is, and I sent you a letter in February and May, requesting information regarding terminated or frozen funding for federal grants and contracts at the small business administration. After months of repeated requests, I'm glad you finally got around to responding yesterday, even though it was due months ago. Unfortunately, your letter still failed to provide specific details or a comprehensive list of all SBA programs, services, grants, contracts, and other funds that has been frozen or terminated.

(59:19)
To add insult to injury, your fiscal year 2026 budget also proposes to eliminate funding for 15 of the entrepreneurial development programs, which provide vital counseling and training to small businesses in my district. Your cuts will shutter the Orange County Women's Business Center in Fullerton, which my constituents rely on to grow their careers and our economy. My constituents are hurting because six months into the Trump administration, the SBA and you have delayed and canceled congressionally mandated spending under your leadership. So I wanted to ask you today, how many SBA programs, services, grants, contracts, and other types of funding have been canceled, frozen or delayed?

Kelly Loeffler (01:00:03):

Zero. And thank you for your letter. If we were delayed, it's because we were making sure that the grants that were not administered under the Biden administration, 100 women's business centers had not received their grants for four years. $17 million, we had to come in and clean up the mess of the last administration for not paying. We have not canceled their grants. Certainly, our new budget streamlines to get rid of the confusion that small businesses face on Main Street about who they should visit when they have questions about the SBA. We have our field offices, of which there are 68. We have 1,000 small business development centers. There's complexity and if you layer in all the other non-profits that this agency was making grants, we'd almost become a grant [inaudible 01:00:53].

Mr. Tran (01:00:52):

I appreciate that. That's zero, you said zero. So thank you for that testimony. Administrator, I want to focus on the importance of women centers, the BBC. My district is home to Orange County's Women Business Center. In 2024, they helped 118 new businesses start in Orange County and created over 500 jobs. Despite their proven track record of creating new jobs and empowering female entrepreneurs, you're proposing they close their doors.

(01:01:18)
This program is the definition of an efficient government program that has contributed to local economic growth and innovation. With every $1 invested in WBC's, we've seen $6 new business revenue and $15 in economic activity, an extraordinary return on government investment. Under your plan, you're proposing a one-size-fits-all approach to small business counseling administrator. Why are you canceling funding for a program that has bipartisan support and drives job creation?

Kelly Loeffler (01:01:51):

Congressman, certainly, there are many great non-profits across this country and providing services. This agency is ensuring we get back to our mission focusing on small business capital access and delivering service through our 1000 small business development centers across the country who partner with our veterans business outreach centers. In fact, this week we have 35 efforts ongoing for small businesses to learn, boots to business, job and skills training to become entrepreneurs and ensure that we partner together with our small business development centers.

Mr. Tran (01:02:28):

Speaking of veterans, small business owners, veterans often possess unique qualities such as leadership, discipline, time management, logistic and strategic thinking, which are highly transferable to business. Despite this, they were often underrepresented in business and faced challenges to transitioning to entrepreneurship. This is why Congress created the Veterans Business Outreach Centers and the Veterans Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Act of 1999 and codified the Boots to Business program and the National Defense Authorization Act last year. How do you intend to ensure that veterans' needs are matched through general purpose programings like the SBDC program?

Kelly Loeffler (01:03:05):

Well, obviously, Congressman, we're going to continue to support the Veterans Business Outreach Centers. I was just at Joint Base San Antonio last week working with the Transition Assistance program. I mentioned we have three dozen Boots to Business seminars going on this week. I just signed an MOU with the Veterans Administration Secretary College to ensure there's [inaudible 01:03:24].

Mr. Tran (01:03:24):

Thank you, Administrator. And let me just clarify something. You mentioned earlier that you named someone to lead the Office of Rural Affairs. Who's that person?

Kelly Loeffler (01:03:34):

Richard King.

Mr. Tran (01:03:35):

And when did you make this appointment?

Kelly Loeffler (01:03:38):

I believe it was in February.

Mr. Tran (01:03:40):

And was this posted on the website or where's the website? I can find this information.

Kelly Loeffler (01:03:44):

I'm not sure, Congressman, but he's been very active and as a daughter of a farming family, it's incredibly important. Rural communities have been overlooked the last four years. We have to get back to strengthening our rural Main Streets and certainly our manufacturing initiative will help do that as well.

Mr. Tran (01:04:00):

Thank you Madam Administrator. Madam Chairwoman, I yield back.

Speaker 2 (01:04:04):

Thank you. I now recognize Mr. Finstad from Minnesota for five minutes.

Mr. Finstad (01:04:08):

Thank you, Madam Chair. I'd also like to thank Chairman Williams for holding this hearing today and I'd like to say welcome to Administrator Loeffler. As I was looking over your resume and getting to know you better, there's no doubt about it. You're very accomplished and you have a lot to be proud of, but the thing to me that stands out the most and makes you the most qualified is you're a soybean farmer. And I'm a farmer myself and the value of hard work, the value of understanding the environment, the family nature of the business of farming, I think is just a great foundation and I'm happy to hear you have that.

(01:04:44)
You've been on the job 104 days. A couple of observations that I have that I've been very impressed with. The main one would be this, is that I really do feel like you're using in the right proportions of what God gave you, your two ears versus your one mouth. And your willingness to travel around the country, to get your hands dirty, to roll up your sleeves, to not sit in the marble towers in Washington and listen to bureaucrats and policymakers, but actually listen to the people that you're called to serve, the small businesses of this country. Hearing right from them the issues that they're facing is probably the most important thing that you could be doing for small businesses right now. So I want to thank you for that.

(01:05:24)
With that, with your resume that I highlighted, there was only one blurb on your resume, and that was the United States Senate, but we'll let that one fly. You come into the administration 104 days ago and with your three decades working in the private sector, you're certainly aware of the speed of business, the speed of the private sector, and how business communities moves. What was the status of the SBA bureaucracy and just the internal workings when you walked in, and what have you taken pride in in regards to trying to restructure and reshape?

Kelly Loeffler (01:06:02):

Absolutely. Thank you, Congressman, and thank you for recognizing my farming background. It's probably the thing I'm most proud of and appreciate yours as well. Certainly, a lot of what I learned about business, I learned on that farm, which is accountability and the need for a voice on Main Street. I know what it feels like to feel like you don't have a voice, and that was my commitment in Washington. And President Trump, I believe chose me because he knows that small business is big business, and under his leadership, small business is going to thrive like never before.

(01:06:37)
Certainly, I would say coming into the SBA, we had a commitment to run this like a business. What I found when I walked in on day one, 90% of the seats were empty after four years of working from home. That is not serving small businesses. Small businesses served us throughout the pandemic. They served us after the pandemic, not working from home. They show up every single day and then they had to endure four years of massive rampant inflation, 20% inflation, regulation of $1.7 trillion, very conservative estimates, were heaped on the heads of small businesses, the threat of rising taxes. The Biden administration threatened $4 trillion tax increase. The list goes on and they were allocated Green New Deal and DEI mandates.

(01:07:27)
We got into the agency, rolled all that back, made people come back to work, put our staff out into the field to work with small businesses, and then got to work fighting for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, make sure small businesses don't face a massive tax increase, and to ensure that something like this never happens to small business again. That they know that someone has their back on Main Street and that we will have fair trade. That small business products will be welcomed around the world once. So it's a great honor. It's very humbling to serve our nation's 34,000,000 businesses and job creators, and we're just getting started.

Mr. Finstad (01:08:03):

Appreciate that. I have a bill called the Prove It Act, and one of the highlights that I like to talk about with that is it's not just the dollars, it's the 350,000,000 hours of paperwork and man-hours that go into complying with the different layers of regulations. And as a small business owner, you don't have a stable of lawyers or regulatory affairs people or… You're the janitor, the HR, the CFO, and the CEO all with all before lunch. And so would love to work with you as we move that through Congress.

(01:08:38)
Just in closing, you talked a little bit about rural America and I have a bill up this week, the SAVE SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act. So in Minnesota, we have an SBA center in Minneapolis. Minneapolis has chose to be a sanctuary city. We have seen an uptick in crime and quite frankly, folks from Southern Minnesota that I represent aren't too inclined to drive to Minneapolis to go to the SBA office. Just a quick thought on if you're supportive of this and if you're willing to implement it, if we pass it?

Kelly Loeffler (01:09:07):

Yeah, we're very supportive. As you know, we've decided to move all of our regional offices out of sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal law and ICE, and I'm grateful to have the opportunity to codify that. So thank you for your leadership on that.

Mr. Finstad (01:09:21):

Appreciate it. Thank you. And I yield back.

Speaker 2 (01:09:23):

I now recognize Mr. Olszewski from Maryland for five minutes.

Mr. Olszewski (01:09:26):

Thank you Chair, Ranking Member Velazquez and Administrator Loeffler for joining us today. We've heard a lot from you and my colleagues today about both DOGE, and as Elon Musk describes it, the disgusting Abomination Bill. So I'll focus my questions on those two topics today. I'll start with your prior service in the Senate, Administrator. You acknowledge that individual provisions like the no tax on tip can be acted on independently as the Senate did through unanimous consent. Right? It's yes or no, right? You

Mr. Olszewski (01:10:00):

… acknowledge that can happen.

Kelly Loeffler (01:10:02):

Congressman, I'll-

Mr. Olszewski (01:10:03):

And if you can't say yes or no, we'll say, "I don't know" and that's fine too.

Kelly Loeffler (01:10:05):

I'll leave it to the Senate. Yeah.

Mr. Olszewski (01:10:06):

So you can, because they did. So I know it might've been a little while. So I just want to be clear. I didn't vote against the disgusting abomination bill because of taxation on businesses. I and my colleagues would've supported that, as the Senate did on an independent provision. I voted against that bill because it guts healthcare for millions of Americans. I voted against that bill because it takes away food supports for veterans and hungry kids and seniors, and it hurts the farmers in my district.

(01:10:41)
I voted against that bill because it raises our country's deficit by trillions of dollars. I voted against that bill because it now says a child who is seven is no longer a dependent child administrator. I voted against that bill because it weakens our courts. I voted against that bill because it is a reverse Robin Hood nightmare for our country. So there are provisions in this bill that on their own, me and my colleagues would be happy to support. So I have to ask you, and again you can say yes or no or pass, but those are your options. Do you support the provisions that reduce Medicaid?

Kelly Loeffler (01:11:17):

I support the provisions that reduce Medicaid waste, fraud, and abuse. And you know it was happening.

Mr. Olszewski (01:11:21):

Okay. Do you support the provisions that remove food supports?

Kelly Loeffler (01:11:23):

So the people that deserve to have Medicaid, it can be there for them.

Mr. Olszewski (01:11:26):

Do you support provisions that remove food supports?

Kelly Loeffler (01:11:29):

I support removing people who are gaming the system who should not have-

Mr. Olszewski (01:11:32):

So here's an easy one. Do you support the provision that makes a seven-year-old child no longer considered dependent?

Kelly Loeffler (01:11:39):

I support provisions that ensure that it is there for the people that need it. And the people that are gaming the system are not receiving it.

Mr. Olszewski (01:11:44):

I don't think a single mother who has a seven-year-old child who is now being forced to work is gaming the system.

Kelly Loeffler (01:11:49):

I don't think the present request is accurate.

Mr. Olszewski (01:11:50):

Reclaiming my time. Do you support the provision that weakens the courts?

Kelly Loeffler (01:11:53):

I support this bill because it reduces taxes, it cuts spending, and it ensures that waste, fraud, and abuse in federal programs are eliminated.

Mr. Olszewski (01:11:58):

And we can do all those things respectfully, Administrator, without doing all of these things that harm Americans in deeply painful ways. Turning now to do DOGE, Madam Chair, I'd like to enter into the record an article from Fox, Fox News, that highlights the efforts that I led as Baltimore County executive to lead $700 million of efficiency in local government.

Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (01:12:25):

Without objection.

Mr. Olszewski (01:12:25):

Thank you. So just a few questions about DOGE since we're talking about how great it is. And I've proven it's possible without firing people and without harming programs. What kind of vetting have you done with DOGE employees? What does that look like?

Kelly Loeffler (01:12:39):

The DOGE team are employees of various federal agencies like the SBA. They had the same vetting that any government employee would have. But I'd like to point out that there are employees of the federal government just recently who were arrested for food stamps fraud to the tune of $66 million.

Mr. Olszewski (01:13:00):

Interesting you say that though, Administrator, because DOGE staff have actually been reported to not be subject to the same vetting and security clearance procedures as other federal employees. It's been reported that DOGE staff has circumvented chains of custody in their work.

Kelly Loeffler (01:13:12):

You can ask me about that again.

Mr. Olszewski (01:13:13):

Do you know if the DOGE members working at the SBA have small business expertise?

Kelly Loeffler (01:13:18):

I know that our DOGE partner does, and he is an employee of the SBA.

Mr. Olszewski (01:13:22):

I would love to see the resume of those individuals. And then, where do the DOGE numbers come from? What loan programs and SBA systems contain the information that you're sharing in your press release? Do you know that information?

Kelly Loeffler (01:13:33):

Our DOGE partners are authorized to access the systems that government employees are authorized to access. And what they're doing is-

Mr. Olszewski (01:13:40):

And what systems are they? From which systems are we pulling this information?

Kelly Loeffler (01:13:44):

Well, Congressman, we have 48 systems at the SBA. That's what they're helping us streamline, to ensure that there's a single point of contact. Small businesses are not being served by having a massive number of technology systems that cost tens of millions of dollars a year to maintain. And so, what they're doing is helping us serve small businesses better. I don't think any small businesses object to having better service, to having streamlined efficiency at this agency, which hasn't touched them for four year.

Mr. Olszewski (01:14:12):

And nor do I, Administrator, but small businesses do object to reckless tariffs and having their employees kicked off health coverage and having hungry kids not have food in their mouths. And so, I welcome you to the conversation. We support the provisions that will help our small businesses. And with that, Madam Chair, I yield back.

Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (01:14:26):

I now recognize Ms. King-Hinds from the Northern Mariana Islands for five minutes.

Representative Kimberlyn King-Hinds (01:14:30):

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you Administrator Loeffler for being with us here today. So a couple of weeks ago we had a couple, actually quite a few people who made the 8,000-mile trek from the Northern Marianas, the district that I represent, to come and make a door knock here to various members of the House seeking for relief. Because our economy is tourism-dependent and we have not recovered from the typhoon that hit us back in 2018 and then Covid. And then, in 2022 there was a part 213 order issued during the Biden administration, which just basically began the collapse-

Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (01:15:16):

Hold on a second, we need to get the clock working. Thank you.

Representative Kimberlyn King-Hinds (01:15:20):

Which began the collapse of our tourism industry. And so, I just got back a few days ago from the district, and one of the things that folks are asking for is relief. And so, I'm really happy to be able to have this conversation with you today. First, I would like to invite you to come out and visit the Northern Mariana Islands. The Small Business Committee is planning a CODEL, and I invite and encourage all the members to come out to see the conditions on the ground on America's westernmost border and closest border to Asia.

(01:15:54)
So in 2018, the biggest typhoon to ever hit one of America's jurisdictions hit the Marianas called Typhoon Yutu. And because of the drastic decline in our tourism industry, folks just don't have customers coming and walking through the doors. And there were quite a few folks who took out SBA disaster loans who are asking for some sort of a temporary relief until such time that we figure out how to get our economy back going. So a letter will be forthcoming to your office seeking opportunities of how we can work to provide relief to those folks until we figure out our way out of this hole. That's one.

(01:16:37)
Two, one growing industry in the CNMI is the expanding footprint of the military activities that are happening on the island of Tinian. And what we're seeing is that our local businesses are now competing with folks who are coming from other jurisdiction bidding on these military contracts. And so, one of the asks, and I'm looking for an opportunity here, is to I guess you can do it through updating your regulatory guidance with regards to the AASBA program to specifically identify Chamorros and NMDs so that they would have a better chance and a better shot in terms of competing for these programs.

(01:17:26)
Other than that, I really don't have any questions. One of the things that I would like to commend you and the Trump administration is your work on removing regulatory burdens that have been impacting these small businesses. Almost all businesses in the CNMI are small businesses, and so it's a welcome relief. So thank you for your hard work, and I look forward to working with you. And please be expecting a letter outlining some of these asks.

Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (01:17:54):

Thank you, Congressman. Thank you. I now recognize Ms. Simon from California for five minutes.

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (01:18:01):

Thank you, Administrator for being here today. As my colleagues have touched on, the administration is proposing deep cuts to SBA's entrepreneurial development programs, and the salaries expenses that directly support our SBA federal workforce are under fire.

(01:18:22)
I recently met with a young woman from the Bay Area, my constituent, who was hired for a permanent position at SBA at the regional office in San Francisco last December after holding a temporary positions at the agency since 2017. And this individual, she had worked tirelessly through Covid, through the pandemic, one of the hardest and darkest times for small business owners around the country, to keep those small businesses going in the Bay Area. She dedicated thousands of hours in the field, door-to-door, working with business owners literally night and day prior to being wrongfully terminated by DOGE.

(01:19:06)
This individual played a vital role in connecting these small businesses, especially minority-owned businesses, which I know this administration doesn't have much love for and underserved businesses to resources, training, and expert opportunities. Technical assistance, as you know, is extremely important for our small businesses. Then one Friday, unbeknownst to her and her direct supervisor, she was fired, unexpectedly and without proper reason. Unfortunately, we know, we all know, Republican and Democrat, our SBA local offices have experienced these terminations. She is not the only story.

(01:19:46)
But what's most concerning here is the contradiction between the administrative stated goals and the real actions in real communities. We have, as you've articulated, shut down six and counting SBA offices in the country. I represent disabled small business owners as a disabled woman myself who started keeping a payroll at the age of 19. I've employed hundreds of folks. I know what it's like trying to call, get on a website, begging for support as both an NGO and a for-profit small business. With the shuttering of these offices, could you tell us now, if I were to call any regional office, what would be my wait time as a small business owner? Is it better or worse since you fired all of these folks unexpectedly? Is it better or worse?

Kelly Loeffler (01:20:41):

Congressman, it's better because people are in the office.

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (01:20:44):

Could we call one right now? What's the average wait time? What is the average wait time? I've done the work. I've been on hold for more than an hour. The websites are not ADA accessible. You cannot tell us right now that the services being rendered in this moment under your leadership are supporting small business owners at a better rate than they were a year ago. I understand we need to get to the bottom of it. We need to figure out how to create a more efficacious system. But we cannot fool ourselves in saying when you fire thousands of staff, low income small businesses are better off. We can't lie to each other right here. It's not okay.

Kelly Loeffler (01:21:28):

Congressman.

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (01:21:29):

It's not okay. We can say we're struggling to figure out how to develop a better Small Business Administration, but you can't tell me that the wait times are better. You can't tell me that if I go to the website, as a disabled legally blind woman, that I can get the information that I need. Try your website today so it's okay for us. We want to work together. We have to work together to say that there are more opportunities to grow.

(01:21:56)
But you can't say the wait times are better, that the service is better, that the information is multilingual in the ways that it should be. I have 150 languages spoken in my district. You want to tell me you want to take away my San Francisco office and that small business owners will be better off because of this bigotry? Are they going to be better off? Are they going to get the information that they need to be able to be prosperous and feed their families, to be the main street that we know that we want in our communities? No. You actually want to take those opportunities, those staffing opportunities, those technical assistance opportunities away from the people that need the most.

(01:22:35)
You don't need to respond because you've responded throughout this whole hearing, and the answer is the services aren't going to be better, that folks aren't going to be able to have opportunities, and you don't care. You don't care, because you don't fire over 2,000 people and say that services are going to be better for small business owners. And I'll yield back.

Kelly Loeffler (01:22:52):

Congresswoman, our loan volume is up 80% compared to the first 100 days of the Biden administration. We're doing more with less, just like all small businesses do.

Congresswoman Beth Van Duyne (01:23:01):

I now recognize Mr. Muser from Pennsylvania for five minutes.

Congressman Dan Meuser (01:23:06):

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. And Administrator, thank you very, very much for bearing through this, for answering your questions. Congratulations on 104 days. The SBA in this short period of time has launched the Red Tape Hotline. I think I mentioned to you yesterday at the meeting I think we should have called it the Blue Tape Hotline. The Made in America Manufacturing Initiative, the Franchise Directory, and the Make Onshoring Great Again portal that I want to hear a little bit more about. You've restored prudent underwriting standards in the 7(a) loan program. As we all know and predicted, there was $176 million in non-collateralized loans, which we warned, that our chairman warned the SBA Administrator right to her while she was sitting there, that these loans were going to go bad, but they did it anyway, non-collateralized. And we cracked down on SBA loans going to illegals and those who are ineligible, non-eligible persons and businesses.

(01:24:07)
Boy, I don't know who finds that to be disturbing, but my goodness, if we're all from the private sector, or some of us anyway, and are about small businesses, we really wouldn't want a private bank or a private business to be doing business with those who have no chance of paying them back or paying the loan. So there's still a lot of work to do. You have no shows, 90% over a four-year period, I believe you said. That is unbelievable. I don't remember hearing much of a cry about that over the last four years except maybe from us. And the SBA Administrator said, "We're working on it." When we didn't have to subpoena her to provide us information.

(01:24:52)
Piles of the blue tape, the overreach, the loans as stated going out to non-collateralized. And by the way, we had a big issue with them spending a lot of focus, spending a lot of time on registering voters, particularly in blue areas. But outside of that, they were wonderful.

(01:25:09)
So we're very glad that you're now in your seat. The BBB provides tax certainty, continuation of particularly small business taxes, particularly to 199A, enhanced 23%, very, very important, bonus depreciation, RMD tax credit. Tell us from your vast experience in business and in your talking with the small businesses you worked for, what would happen if these provisions expire?

Kelly Loeffler (01:25:42):

Well, we would face many, many challenges, most of which would be felt on Main Street America, and certainly that is the heartbeat of this country's economy. It's the jobs engine. It would cost us millions and millions of jobs if that 23% reduction doesn't go through. If factories don't have the depreciation they need to invest and grow in Made in America manufacturing, which is so vital to our country's economic and national security. And we would lose many of our small businesses because they operate at such thin margins. They would lose the certainty of their future and be unable to invest not just in equipment but in employees, in hiring, which are the engines of our hiring; under which President Trump, we've already seen a half million jobs created, reversing the Biden administration's decline of manufacturing of 110,000 jobs lost in manufacturing in just his last year. So we're getting back to supporting the working men and women of America on Main Street.

Congressman Dan Meuser (01:26:44):

Thank you. Your Onshoring Great Again, I want to talk about that. But I also find it alarming how so many talk about tariffs and how that's going to make the sky fall. But raising taxes on companies is a okay. But not on small businesses, because this bill caters to the big businesses. Does this bill, the BBB, even have any effect on C corporations, the larger corporations, with certain exceptions of R&D and bonus depreciation?

Kelly Loeffler (01:27:16):

No. It maintains the corporate tax rate and it-

Congressman Dan Meuser (01:27:18):

It maintains it.

Kelly Loeffler (01:27:19):

Yeah, it certainly helps small businesses grow and invest.

Congressman Dan Meuser (01:27:22):

And did I see correctly that the inflation rate last month was at 2.1%, the lowest it's been since I think 2019?

Kelly Loeffler (01:27:32):

Yeah, four-year lows.

Congressman Dan Meuser (01:27:33):

Yeah, four-year lows. So why don't you tell us a little bit about your Onshoring Great Again, which shows businesses where they could go as opposed to buying products from overseas?

Kelly Loeffler (01:27:44):

Thank you, Congressman. We strongly reject the narrative that things can't be made in America again, and are promoting Made in America manufacturing. And as part of that, not just expanding our loan sizes, but making sure small businesses know they have a choice to procure their resources, to onshore production in this country. Our Make Onshoring Great Again portal, which is on the SBA.gov website home page can be accessed by everyone. It's three different private sector databases that provide access to onshore production. And it'll ensure that our small businesses can source locally and not from the Chinese Communist Party.

Congressman Dan Meuser (01:28:22):

Thank you, Administrator very much. I yield back, Nr. Chairman.

Mr. Williams (01:28:23):

Gentleman yields back. I now recognize Ms. Goodlander from the great state of New Hampshire for five minutes.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:28:29):

Thank you, Administrator Loeffler for being here today. You testified that as you've traveled around the country, you've heard three big concerns from our small businesses. You talked about workforce challenges, regulations and red tape, and taxes. I'm hearing similar concerns, but I want to address both. I want to start by asking you about the workforce challenges you've heard about. As I've traveled around New Hampshire, and part of what has really given me grave concern about the biggest cuts to healthcare in American history is the impact that these cuts will have on our small business owners and employees. Do you have a sense, Administrator, of what the scale is? How many small business owners and employees depend on Medicaid?

Kelly Loeffler (01:29:18):

Congresswoman, we have to make sure that Medicaid is there for the people that need it and not for people who are gaming the system or double dipping. We know that there are Medicaid checks being sent to the same person in two different states. And Americans want to know that this program will be there for them when they need it. We should make sure that pregnant single women are able to get that and not able-bodied Americans. That's what's happening.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:29:39):

Thank you, Administrator, for re-claiming my time. The answer is 7 million small business owners and employees depend on Medicaid for affordable healthcare coverage. We're talking about the biggest cuts to Medicaid in American history. We're also not extending the ACA premium tax credits, which is going to hurt our small businesses across this country. And it's what I'm hearing from our small businesses every day on this job. I want to ask you about child care as a workforce issue. And Administrator, will you commit to working with me and with our committee to make child care more affordable?

Kelly Loeffler (01:30:11):

Congressman, I do hear child care concerns, and we want to make sure that we are ensuring that small businesses have the resources they need. And I would love to hear your ideas about improving that across this country.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:30:25):

Thank you. I appreciate that and I will take you up on that. I want to ask you, you mentioned red tape and taxes. As I've traveled around New Hampshire, the number one concern, I guess my question to you is how important is certainty to our small businesses?

Kelly Loeffler (01:30:43):

Certainty is one thing that small businesses would like to have, but running a small business is about anything but certainty.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:30:50):

Sure.

Kelly Loeffler (01:30:51):

And that's why the tax bill is so important.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:30:52):

Thank you.

Kelly Loeffler (01:30:53):

So that they have the continuity of their expectations around tax.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:30:56):

The primary driver of uncertainty for our small businesses today is this absolutely hard to follow trade policy, in which tariffs and trade war have been waged and exemptions have been granted. You testified earlier, Administrator, that you oppose exemptions for small businesses from the President's tariffs. I just want to be sure that we have that right.

Kelly Loeffler (01:31:20):

I testified that we have to have fair trade for our small businesses who don't have the resources to fight against the trade war waged against our small businesses, allowing small businesses in China to take away, to commit sabotage and espionage when small businesses produce in China. They steal their intellectual property.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:31:36):

Administrator, I'm going to take that as you oppose exemptions for small businesses, while some of the biggest corporations in the world are getting exemptions from the President's great policies.

Kelly Loeffler (01:31:43):

I oppose the hollowing out of this country's manufacturing base, and that's happened across communities. 5 million workers have not had a voice. We have to restore opportunity for our workers, for our small businesses to compete on a level playing field.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:31:56):

I agree. In New Hampshire, we have an incredible community of advanced manufacturing small businesses. And I'm reading here from a letter I received from one such business in the town of Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire. This is a precision motion and engineering company. It's a small business. They said, "Without relief, companies like ABTEC representing the backbone of American manufacturing face significant challenges to sustaining growth, innovation, and employment." I've heard from countless small businesses who are worried that they're not going to be able to stay in business because of the President's tariffs. Will you commit to working with us in this committee to make sure that our small manufacturing businesses don't go out of business?

Kelly Loeffler (01:32:39):

Well, certainly I'll always commit to working with the committee to find-

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:32:42):

Through exemptions to these…

Kelly Loeffler (01:32:43):

… options and solutions. Our solution of onshoring our supply chain through our onshoring portal is critical. But we have to ensure that our small businesses are never at the mercy of the Chinese Communist Party again. Why did that happen in America? We have to make sure.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:32:55):

I couldn't agree more with that, and I want them to stay in business.

Kelly Loeffler (01:32:58):

Yeah, so I hope they'll use our Onshoring portal. Yeah.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:32:59):

I hope we can count on you to work with us on that. Administrator Loeffler, you talked about staffing cuts. Last week you testified before the Senate, and you committed to my colleague Senator Shaheen from New Hampshire to giving us a full update on how you plan to restaff critical district offices including in New Hampshire. So that you know, we've seen a 60% reduction in our staffing in New Hampshire. How is that in any way consistent with strengthening the SBA in the field?

Kelly Loeffler (01:33:27):

Well, we've certainly seen a return to office, and the return to office did cause some people to opt out of returning to work in office. But we are restaffing those field offices and people are back at work now in the field office for the first time in four years.

Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander (01:33:39):

Well, unfortunately in my state of New Hampshire we've seen a 60% reduction, and this is harming our small businesses. So I expect that we will be hearing from you with answers to our questions about how you intend to restore the workforce in that critical field office.

Mr. Williams (01:33:57):

Ladies, time is up. I now recognize Mr. Stauber from the great state of Minnesota for five minutes.

Congressman Pete Stauber (01:34:03):

Thank you, Chairman Williams and Ranking Member Velázquez for holding today's hearing. And thank you, Administrator Loeffler for your testimony and your willingness to lead the SBA at such a pivotal moment. I want to just share that during the Biden administration, the SBA lacked transparency, leading this committee to issue four subpoenas to former Administrator Guzmán to talk about oversight in the Small Business Committee. I'd like to remind my colleagues, Administrator Loeffler is here on her own. She didn't need a subpoena to compel her to testify before this committee, and I commend you for that. Is it safe to say that under your leadership if the Small Business Committee asks you to come in and talk, you won't need a subpoena? You'll come willingly like you did today?

Kelly Loeffler (01:35:00):

Yes, Congressman, I will be glad to talk with this committee, and we're going to continue to be very transparent.

Congressman Pete Stauber (01:35:06):

Thank you very much. Small business owners in my district in Northern Minnesota and across the country have spent the last few years drowning in blue tape. During the Biden administration, more than 1,100 new regulations were added to the federal register. Those rules carried a staggering $1.8 trillion price tag and imposed more than 356 million hours of paperwork on the American small business man and woman. That's not governing, it's smothering, stifling and wrong. And the hardest hit was Main Street. And I've spoken to countless entrepreneurs, small business men and women who sat right here in front of us, and I asked, "Are those rules and regulations crushing, demoralizing?" And they all said, "Yes. No more rules or regulations on American small businesses. It's stifling." Can you speak to the steps you've taken in your first 100+ days to reduce the regulatory burdens on American small businesses?

Kelly Loeffler (01:36:10):

Congressman, we are for the first time in years staffing the Office of the Advocacy, which advocates for small businesses across the administration and across all agencies. The last administration did not fill that advocate role. We are going to ensure that small businesses have a regulatory watchdog in Washington. We've already had that office out on the road listening to small businesses. And you're correct. Small businesses are being crushed. We call it the American Dream wrapped in blue tape. So we have to unleash businesses, and we've heard it from every single business. We're going to ensure that they have a voice in unwrapping that regulatory red tape.

Congressman Pete Stauber (01:36:51):

And the small businesses that you have talked to and I have talked to many, they want certainty and that certainty comes with the extension, a permanent extension of the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. Would that be correct?

Kelly Loeffler (01:37:05):

Absolutely. Small businesses would suffer the most if this bill is not passed. And it was really shocking to see Democrats vote against making the tax cuts permanent, to voting against $1.6 trillion in spending, to vote against the border wall, and to get rid of the abuse of federal programs like Medicaid and food stamps.

Congressman Pete Stauber (01:37:29):

Another major change under your leadership has been a push to restructure and streamline the SBA. Can you walk us through how the SBA is being restructured to eliminate duplication and provide more direct effective services to entrepreneurs and small businesses across this great nation?

Kelly Loeffler (01:37:47):

The agency had doubled under the Biden administration in terms of headcount, but the services actually deteriorated. We saw record levels of delinquencies and defaults costing taxpayers almost $2.2 billion in loan losses. We've restored the underwriting standards, we've right-sized the agency. And as a result, our loan volume is up 80% in President Trump's first 100 days compared to the last administration, and up 20% from the end of the Biden administration. So just like a small business, we are doing more with less.

Congressman Pete Stauber (01:38:21):

Right. One of the questions in your testimony that was asked of you and your response was when you arrived in your position, I just want to make sure this is clear, that 90% of the staff at the Small Business Administration, they were working from home for the last four years. Is that correct?

Kelly Loeffler (01:38:49):

Yes. The offices were almost empty. And even today, we found 35 offices that had either zero or one employee. So we're also streamlining that footprint to ensure taxpayer dollars are used wisely.

Congressman Pete Stauber (01:39:01):

Thank you for your leadership, and I yield back.

Mr. Williams (01:39:03):

The gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Cisneros from the great state California for five minutes.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:39:11):

Administrator Loeffler, it's finally nice to actually have somebody from the SBA after so many hearings to actually answer questions about policies that are being put in place. And the first thing I would like to ask you is if you can name those offices that had zero employees, I would love to see those. You don't have to give them right now, but you can give them to me back in a letter that I think that you could address. I would love to hear what offices and what cities those were there. You say you are supporting small businesses but you moved offices out of six metropolitan areas. People in New York City are now having to travel to Long Island, which is not easy to get to. You have to go by train or other means in order to get there. How does moving these offices out of the metropolitan areas where they serve collectively hundreds of thousands of businesses, how is that supporting small business?

Kelly Loeffler (01:40:06):

Congressman, thank you for the question. I would like to start by thanking Secretary Noem and ICE for ensuring that our cities are safe. You saw in a sanctuary city yesterday-

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:40:18):

I'm not asking you about ICE, I'm asking about how you're supporting small businesses if you're moving the offices out of the areas.

Kelly Loeffler (01:40:24):

We're keeping small businesses safe after four years of an open border policy.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:40:28):

Were any of these SBA offices or any of these small businesses under attack or threat? Do you have proof of that? Everything was going on where you needed to move these offices out?

Kelly Loeffler (01:40:37):

In Denver, we saw a terror attack on the Jewish community by an illegal alien who is in a sanctuary city. Yes, there are many small businesses in Denver that are threatened by illegal aliens who are committing crimes.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:40:50):

Again, I would love to see that list of small businesses that have been attacked or threatened by these.

Kelly Loeffler (01:40:54):

We have many stories of small businesses.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:40:56):

Where you felt that it was needed in order to move these offices out. But in doing that, you are not only hurting, and you are supposed to be there to help businesses, support businesses in these areas. And some of these businesses are owned and operated not only by Democrats but Independents and Republicans as well. And when you move these resources out of these metropolitan areas, you are making it harder for them to receive these services. So how is this helping small businesses? How is it keeping them safe?

Kelly Loeffler (01:41:33):

Congressman, this is not about partisanship, this is about public safety.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:41:36):

Well, I'm talking about right now whether or not you move the office out of these areas, these small businesses are still in those areas. So how does that help these small businesses if you're moving them out of these metropolitan areas?

Kelly Loeffler (01:41:50):

Congressman, there are resources all over this country from the SBA. We have 1,000 Small Business Development Centers.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:41:57):

Do you agree? You've said numerous times today that you need to be on Main Street where these things are, right? Main Street is not only in small town America, but it's also in large metropolitan areas. Do you not agree you need to be where the businesses are?

Kelly Loeffler (01:42:12):

We absolutely are where the businesses are. We're ensuring that our regional offices-

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:42:16):

Well then, explain. If that is the thing, then why are you moving offices out of these metropolitan areas?

Kelly Loeffler (01:42:19):

Not only are they unsafe, the offices.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:42:22):

Because when you do that, you are not, you are not where the businesses are.

Kelly Loeffler (01:42:24):

The offices are not only unsafe, they're in areas that are difficult to get to.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:42:29):

Okay.

Kelly Loeffler (01:42:31):

The buildings are inaccessible.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:42:33):

Okay. So moving an office out of New York City into Long Island is making it more accessible for thousands of small businesses in New York City.

Kelly Loeffler (01:42:41):

We are going to support regional offices in areas that comply with federal law, including federal immigration law.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:42:48):

I'm mistaken. I'm sorry. I was assuming that you were the Small Business Administrator, not Homeland Security.

Kelly Loeffler (01:42:54):

We are the voice for small businesses who want safety and security, and we're going to make sure our resources are held to that.

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:43:00):

And those small businesses want resources and help and support. And by moving those resources and help and support out of these metropolitan areas, you cannot legitimately tell me that you are supporting them. Next question, next question.

Kelly Loeffler (01:43:14):

Our loan volume is up 80% compared to-

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:43:14):

Next question. The FAR Council was rewriting the government's procurement regulations. Many of the rules are in place because small businesses find it nearly impossible to compete with large corporations to win a contract. To what extent has SBA been involved in the right to advocate for small contractors? And have you specifically address the potential elimination or sunset of the Rule of Two?

Kelly Loeffler (01:43:41):

Congressman, we are working with OMB on the federal acquisition regulations with the board and ensuring that small businesses once again have a voice there. We've seen the aims of the program not being met. We think that's a serious problem. As the voice, as the advocate for small businesses, we have every means and hope-

Congressman Gil Cisneros, Jr. (01:44:01):

Again, when you're reducing the numbers, the goals for small businesses, whether it be women-owned, veteran-owned, or minority-owned businesses, how is that helping them? And how is that advocating for small businesses when those contracts are now going to larger things? And with that, I yield back.

Mr. Williams (01:44:16):

Gentleman yields back. And I recognize Mr. Downing from the great state of Montana for five minutes.

Congressman Troy Downing (01:44:21):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you Administrator Loeffler for testifying today. I represent Montana's Second Congressional District, which is among the most rural in the nation. And federal agencies need to be aware of the challenges that rural small businesses, farms, ranches face. To help address this, I introduced the Expanding Access To Capital for Rural Job Creators Act, which requires the SEC's Office of the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to report on capital access issues faced by rural small businesses. The Small Business Administration, much like the SEC, needs leadership that values small

Congressman Troy Downing (01:45:00):

… small business innovators from all different types of communities. So, Administrator, do you believe the Small Business Administration, under the Biden Administration, paid adequate attention to the difficulties that rural small businesses face in securing capital?

Kelly Loeffler (01:45:15):

Congressman, we saw a major void in serving rural communities. As the daughter of a five-generation farm, I know how important and vital small businesses are. They are disproportionately important in rural communities. They were completely overlooked in the Biden Administration.

Congressman Troy Downing (01:45:33):

So, what is the SBA doing under your leadership to reverse the previous administration's inaction, and to expand access to capital for rural entrepreneurs and small businesses?

Kelly Loeffler (01:45:43):

Well, we've certainly immediately staffed our Office of Rural Advocacy to ensure that the small business community has a true advocate there. And we're working across not just the regulatory rule set to ensure that hub zones and other aspects of the SBA are truly defined, so that small businesses in rural communities thrive, but that our lending sector provides access to small business loans.

(01:46:12)
Unfortunately, under the Biden Administration, we saw a severe decline in lenders offering SBA loans, which disproportionately impacted rural communities. So, we have a focus on ensuring capital is made available there.

Congressman Troy Downing (01:46:25):

Thank you. In our hearings here in House Small Business Committee, we've investigated how the Biden Administration SBA egregiously politicized and mismanaged its operation through irresponsible work-from-home policies, DEA mandates, and voter registration efforts.

(01:46:42)
So, since taking over as administrator, what have been some of the most egregious examples of politicization and inefficiency that you and your team have discovered from this Biden SBA?

Kelly Loeffler (01:46:53):

Well, you mentioned the electioneering of setting up voter registration, certainly in Michigan with the MOU, but we've also heard of other states of that happening. We moved on day one to ensure that the focus got back to small business and we ended that work, which went through something like 2033.

(01:47:10)
We're back to focusing on small businesses, but we also saw tremendous fraud that was being swept under the rug by the Biden Administration, not just in the COVID era loan programs that they attempted to forgive on the backs of hardworking Americans, the fraudsters loans, but we also found that other areas of giving loans to those over the age of 120, under the age of 11.

(01:47:35)
$630 million worth of those loans were found thanks to DOGE, thanks to [inaudible 01:47:41] do data analytics. As a result of that, we've been able to strengthen our loan application process, and then also reform our lending programs to ensure that they're not losing money to the tune of $2 billion, which is what happened under the Biden Administration.

Congressman Troy Downing (01:47:55):

Thank you. You mentioned the work SBA has done under your leadership to restore integrity to the loan programs through citizen verification protocols. To what degree did the SBA and the previous administration channel taxpayer dollars to provide loans to illegal aliens?

Kelly Loeffler (01:48:13):

Well, one example that we were able to stop was, we identified a loan for more than $700,000 that was going to an illegal alien. We were able to stop the funding on that. We have to make sure that the agency's resources are made available to US citizens.

Congressman Troy Downing (01:48:30):

So, what steps do you think Congress can take moving forward to ensure that future presidential administrations can't mismanage SBA in the same manner?

Kelly Loeffler (01:48:39):

Well, certainly, President Trump's leadership with his executive order of stopping taxpayer subsidization of the Biden open-borders policy is a first step, but ensuring that it's codified to have citizenship as a requirement for receiving SBA resources.

Congressman Troy Downing (01:48:55):

Okay. Finally, I just want to touch on veterans, as they play a role in small business owners. President Trump's budget request for 2026 includes a $10 million increase for veteran-owned business services through small business development centers. How would this request better support veteran entrepreneurs?

Kelly Loeffler (01:49:13):

Well, we know that veterans are going to be better off under President Trump. We recently signed an MOU with the Veterans Administration Secretary Doug Collins, to ensure that the SBA and VA are working together, and ensuring that their increase in their budget also coordinates with ours to the benefit of small business and veterans.

Congressman Troy Downing (01:49:33):

Excellent. Thank you. Mr. Chair, I yield.

Mr. Williams (01:49:35):

The gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. McGarvey from the great State of Kentucky for five minutes.

Morgan McGarvey (01:49:41):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Administrator Loeffler, for being here with us today. I want to start by going back to one of the questions you obfuscated on earlier today when the ranking member of Alaska asked if you would provide the committee with copies of the agency reduction in force and reorganization plans that you submitted to the Office of Personnel Management on March 13th and April 14th, as well as the monthly progress reports beginning in May. That's a yes-or-no question. You said you would do it as appropriate.

(01:50:07)
So, let me ask you, is it appropriate for you to give the oversight body and Congress of the Small Business Association those plans specifically from March 13th and April 14th, as well as the monthly progress reports? Will you do that for us, and is it appropriate?

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:21):

Congressman, I have committed to being transparent with the-

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:24):

Right, but you're not. So, is it yes or no?

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:26):

No, I've been very transparent about the plans.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:28):

No, no, no. I'll tell you what, this is so simple. Will you give us the reports you submitted on March 13th and April 14th?

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:34):

We'll certainly talk with our team.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:35):

So, that's a no?

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:36):

And I have broad authority to run this agency under the administration.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:38):

I've got kids, Ms. Loeffler, so I'm used to dealing with this type of obfuscation.

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:40):

Yeah.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:41):

It's a yes-or-no question. Will you give us the reports you you've already submitted?

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:42):

No, we'll talk about it and we'll come back to you.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:45):

No, we don't need to talk about it.

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:45):

We'll certainly get back, yeah.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:45):

Will you submit it?

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:46):

No, we'll certainly get back to you. I have broad authority to run the agency, and that's what I'm doing.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:49):

The buck has to stop somewhere with the Small Business Administration.

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:52):

No, the buck stops with me. I make the decisions within the agency.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:53):

Okay. Then, yes or no, will you give us the reports you gave to OPM?

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:56):

Yeah, I'll consult with team and we'll come back.

Morgan McGarvey (01:50:57):

No, no, no. Your team? It's you.

Kelly Loeffler (01:50:59):

Yeah.

Morgan McGarvey (01:51:00):

I thought you were in charge?

Kelly Loeffler (01:51:00):

Yeah. Well, we are going to make sure that we uphold all the rules and requirements within the agency.

Morgan McGarvey (01:51:05):

No, it's a yes-or-no question. Will you give us the reports you submitted? If you're transparent, you'll give them to us.

Kelly Loeffler (01:51:09):

Yes, we will certainly come back to you.

Morgan McGarvey (01:51:09):

Yes. Great. Thank you. Thank you for saying yes. We will hold you to that.

(01:51:13)
I also want to go into tariffs now. Because with tariffs, I've talked about tariffs all the time, tariffs are neither good nor bad. Tariffs are a tool. A hammer is neither good nor bad. It's a tool. It's really good for putting a nail on a wall. It's not so great for fixing your iPhone. How you use them matters.

(01:51:29)
And the chaotic nature of the Trump tariff policy has disrupted the economy so much that even Wall Street analysts have a name for it, the TACO term. We're talking about Trump's tariff policy, but that uncertainty is not funny for small businesses.

(01:51:46)
In fact, The Wall Street Journal Small Business Index found that 58% of small businesses say the economy has gotten worse, 66% of small businesses believe tariffs are having a negative impact, and 51% anticipate a recession coming up soon.

(01:52:03)
Do you have any relief efforts or certainty that you can give small business owners in my district of Louisville, Kentucky, all of whom are complaining to our office about this, that there will be certainty in the tariff policy specifically?

Kelly Loeffler (01:52:16):

President Trump is fighting for fair trade. He's fighting for American industry and American workers.

Morgan McGarvey (01:52:20):

I assume you don't have an answer on that either.

Kelly Loeffler (01:52:21):

No one has fought for American workers.

Morgan McGarvey (01:52:23):

Okay, this is good. I'm going to reclaim my time.

Kelly Loeffler (01:52:24):

They've been completely-

Morgan McGarvey (01:52:24):

I'm going to reclaim my time. I'm reclaiming my time right now. Okay. I told you, I've got three kids. They're in elementary and middle school. When they don't answer a question directly, I know what they're up to. I know what you're up to, too. So, we're just going to move on. Hopefully, we can get to some good work here today.

(01:52:38)
I got a lot of questions about your fiscal year 2026 budget request, and I'm just hoping you can clarify a few of those today. Because I'm looking at the budget request right now. And I'm on the Veterans Committee. I have over 40,000 veterans who live in Louisville, Kentucky. I'm deeply concerned about veterans' issues and how they can make a really good life for themselves after they've put on the uniform to serve us. But the plain reading of your budget says that it is one of the 15 programs that looks like it is going to be ending. That's our Veterans Business Outreach Centers that help veterans. Last year, the Veterans Business Outreach Centers, they held more than 1900 training events, including 867 Boots to Business: Reboot classes, and more than 180 military institutions. Boots to Business is a program passed by Congress.

(01:53:26)
Testifying in the Senate, you said, "I want to correct the assumption that we are eliminating these Veteran Business Outreach Centers." And today, with Mr. Tran's questions, you said something similar. So, I want to ask, is the Veteran Business Outreach Center program one of the 15 entrepreneurial development programs mentioned in your budget request?

Kelly Loeffler (01:53:46):

We have said that we will continue to fund it, that the $10 million funding level is a floor, not a ceiling. We have, in fact, 35 Boots to Business efforts going on this week that Veterans Connected [inaudible 01:53:58] San Antonio last week.

Morgan McGarvey (01:53:57):

Okay, but I want to draw on this really quickly. I'm reclaiming my time. I want to draw on this really quickly. By cutting those 15 programs, you cut $167 million. You say that you're going to put them over in the Small Business Development Center, but you increase this funding for that only by $10 million. You say it's a floor, but it's in here. It's in the budget. It says exactly what it is.

(01:54:18)
So, it doesn't seem possible that you have the funding for a congressionally-approved program which has put of thousands of veterans not just back to work, but having the American dream of starting their own business. Your budget eliminates it, and again, you are not giving us a straight answer.

(01:54:34)
I wish you would do that. Because just yesterday, on the House floor, this committee passed seven bipartisan bills. We work together for small businesses, so that everyone can have the American dream. And I hope we can have that relationship with you. Mr. Chairman, I yield back

Mr. Williams (01:54:47):

The gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Wied from the great State of Wisconsin for five minutes.

Tony Wied (01:54:53):

Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Administrator Loeffler, for testifying here today.

(01:54:58)
Administrator Loeffler, in your opening statement, you mentioned unprecedented levels of fraud and mismanagement within the SBA under the previous administration. Unfortunately, this seems to be the trademark of the Biden Administration, not only within the SBA, but across the federal government. I want to thank you and your team's hard work to reorient and streamline the SBA towards working for Main Street once again.

(01:55:21)
One of the primary concerns I hear from small businesses in my district is their ability to access capital. During the Biden Administration, the 7(a) loan program, like many other federal programs, was nearly destroyed thanks to the previous administration's reckless policies. How will the recent reforms to 7(a) loan program protect this program for years to come?

Kelly Loeffler (01:55:43):

Congressman, you're right. Under the Biden Administration, they introduced a SOP called Do What You Do, effectively trying to turn the 7(a) loan program, which is a public-private partnership, into a grant program. As a result of that, we saw rising defaults going negative cash flow for the first time in 13 years. We've eliminated that SOP and restored the prior underwriting guidelines to ensure that small businesses have the access to capital that they need under certain terms that apply to everyone.

Tony Wied (01:56:16):

So, almost a quarter of the working population in the district that I represent in Wisconsin's eighth district are employed in the manufacturing sector. My Republican colleagues and I are fully supportive of the Trump Administration and SBA's goal of bringing back manufacturing to the United States, and programs like the Make Onshoring Great Again portal in the American manufacturing initiatives are important pieces in achieving this goal.

(01:56:39)
With that being said, what are some of the biggest concerns you're hearing from manufacturers on your Made in America roadshow, and what can we do as members of this committee to alleviate some of those concerns?

Kelly Loeffler (01:56:51):

Certainly. Thank you, Congressman. Some of the biggest concerns we hear are ensuring that the tax bill gets passed. Making the tax cuts permanent to have 100% dispensing, in addition to the 199A pass-through deduction, the 179 bonus depreciation, Made in America manufacturing 100% depreciation.

(01:57:12)
They want to know that's going to go through, because manufacturers are spring-loaded for investment if that goes through. They're spring-loaded for hiring. And that's another issue, is a skilled workforce. Manufacturers talk to us about finding that skilled workforce. So, that's been a big focus for us.

(01:57:26)
And then, deregulation. They have been crushed by massive regulation the last four years, and that has been heaped disproportionately on small businesses and manufacturers. And so, we're getting back to the focus on deregulation as well.

Tony Wied (01:57:40):

Great. Well, thank you, Administrator Loeffler, for all you're doing for your service to our great country.

Kelly Loeffler (01:57:44):

Thank you.

Tony Wied (01:57:44):

Appreciate it. I yield back.

Mr. Williams (01:57:47):

The gentlemen yields back. I now recognize Dr. Conaway, great State of New Jersey, for five minutes.

Herbert Conaway (01:57:55):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Administrator Loeffler, for presenting yourself to us today and offering information on the workings of your department.

(01:58:04)
On March 19th, President Trump signed an executive order, which effectively dismantles the US Department of Education , or certainly puts it on track to be dismantled. This unprecedented action has also included shifting the student loan portfolio, which is a $1.6 trillion outstanding loan debt to the SBA.

(01:58:24)
In addition to that, the SBA announced that it will be reducing its workforce by 43%. That amounts to 2,700 employees, as you've noted for us here today. And so, it seems contrary to the White House's position that they are trying to bring efficiencies to both of these efforts, the Small Business Administration and administering student loans, with less people to actually do that, and placing that student loan portfolio in an agency that has no experience in running that very important program.

(01:59:03)
I have not heard, and it's not been presented to me, that you have presented plans on how you intend to incorporate the student loan portfolio within the SBA. Can you outline those plans today?

Kelly Loeffler (01:59:16):

Well, Congressman, as you're aware, the Biden Administration created a absolute crisis with the student loan program, trying to forgive nearly $2 trillion of debt on-

Herbert Conaway (01:59:25):

Reclaiming my time. Really, I'm asking a question about… I'm reclaiming my time. I really don't want to be combative with you, because I only have limited time. Could you just give us a brief outline of what your plans are to incorporate this loan portfolio?

Kelly Loeffler (01:59:41):

Yes, Congressman. We'll be working with the White House and this administration to ensure any of these plans, as they're developed, will be carried out. The SBA is the largest government-guaranteed lender of $444 billion loan portfolio that we operate. We've generated 80% increase in our loan volume with 43% less staff, and it's consistent with the FSA program-

Herbert Conaway (02:00:04):

I'm reclaiming my time. Let me move on to tariffs, because I don't want to leave this important question to one side.

(02:00:12)
I have met, as you have, with small businesses in my community, and I will tell you, one of the things that I've heard from people who sell cars, from people who are selling products, and at baseline, small businesses get many of their parts, or wholly-made products, from overseas. And so, they suffer tariffs on the way in, and they sell overseas, and they're hit with tariffs on the way out.

(02:00:38)
The policy has been back and forth. We were promised we'd have 90 deals in 90 days to, at this time, there are zero deals done. And the clock is ticking on this 90-day program. And what they have told me, these small business owners, is that one of the things they need is certainty, so that they can plan.

(02:00:56)
I met with a small business that has overseas operations. It's a third-generation business. They've made a profit every year. They've maintained a stable workforce and growing. And what I was told is, they believe for the first time in the history of that firm that they will not be able to make a profit because of the tariffs and the cost being imposed on their business.

(02:01:18)
We know it's a tax on consumers, and we know that tariffs have driven economies and, indeed, the world economy into a recession or depression. So, tell me, how does this shifting policy on tariffs, how does that help small business?

Kelly Loeffler (02:01:33):

Congressman, I disagree with your premise. These are the tariffs enacted against America. These are what small businesses are up against.

Herbert Conaway (02:01:39):

Right now, I'm reclaiming my time.

Kelly Loeffler (02:01:40):

This is what's happening.

Herbert Conaway (02:01:41):

How-

Kelly Loeffler (02:01:42):

No one's fighting for small businesses than President Trump has with [inaudible 02:01:43].

Herbert Conaway (02:01:42):

Reclaiming my time. How is a policy that is a whirlybird policy… It's like a weather ring going that's, they're on, they're off. These deals that are supposed to get done, again, 90 deals, 90 days. Zero, zero of these agreements have been made. And all the experts say it takes two years, roughly, for any of these deals actually to get done and ironed out.

(02:02:06)
So, what are small businesses supposed to do over the next two years with all of this uncertainty, as they attempt to plan and grow? What are you telling these small businesses? To wait? And in two years, help will then be on the way?

Kelly Loeffler (02:02:19):

Congressman, the president has committed to a short-term trade negotiation over 90 days. He's already completed two deals and more to come.

Herbert Conaway (02:02:26):

Zero deals. Zero deals.

Kelly Loeffler (02:02:27):

But small businesses don't have an advocate.

Herbert Conaway (02:02:28):

Now, reclaiming my time-

Kelly Loeffler (02:02:29):

President Trump is their advocate to ensure-

Herbert Conaway (02:02:29):

… because I just have 30 seconds left. I want to get to this question about the inspector generals that have been fired across the government. And my questions are, will you commit to ensure that whoever comes to your agency has a demonstrated history of non-partisanship in their dealings? We've seen the opposite in people that are already on the job. And will you commit that they have expertise in the areas of auditing and finance, and the legal affairs that they need understanding, to actually run the Office of an Inspector General for the SBA? Will you commit to that?

Kelly Loeffler (02:03:02):

Yes, Congressman. Yes.

Herbert Conaway (02:03:04):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Williams (02:03:04):

The gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Patronis from the great State of Florida for five minutes.

Jimmy Patronis (02:03:10):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Administrator, thank you for joining us today.

(02:03:16)
My district is Northwest Florida. If you're from Georgia, you know where it is. And I'm sure you probably vacationed there at some time in your life. Please know that we have an invitation open for you to come and visit. I'm the new guy on the block, but where I'm coming from is, I grew up in a small family business, a restaurant business. Taking care of the customer is important. Taking care of our employees is important. And I appreciate we have an administrator that understands the importance of signing the front side of a check and understand running a business.

(02:03:46)
I'm really pleased of what y'all are doing to prioritize the phrase waste, fraud, and abuse. When you're running a small business, the only way you're going to succeed is to watch the bottom line. And I saw the video that you posted as you walked past all the empty cubicles. And I was floored by the amount of, really, lack of efficiency that was taking place in your administration and how you had to really wrap your arms around a mess. And it's not easy, and I admire your commitment to want to turn the agency around.

(02:04:18)
I regret that my colleagues from across the aisle weren't here to hear my questions, but I'm sensitive to my part of the state, especially when dealing with natural disasters. And the SBA loan program has been responsible for saving many a business in the State of Florida, especially after a hurricane.

(02:04:39)
And the one thing that I appreciate about the loan program, there's not a question that it says, are you a Democrat or a Republican? Mother Nature doesn't care where it lands, but it's going to affect everybody and hurt everybody just the same, no matter where you voted, no matter where you live. But describe how that program makes a difference in saving these businesses, which ultimately keeps people employed.

Kelly Loeffler (02:05:00):

You're absolutely right, Congressman Patronis. I've visited red states' and blue states' disasters and ensuring that from Kentucky to California, they have what they need in the recovery efforts. We're not a response agency, we're a recovery and resilience agency and certainly have been on the ground.

(02:05:18)
And in the first 100 days of the Trump Administration, we've delivered $3.4 billion of disaster loans, that means to small businesses and families across this country. Impacted over 1,300 counties right now in America. We have, ongoing, about 25 disasters. That means that homeowners have the resources through our SBA loan program to rebuild, that small businesses can rebuild and keep staff on.

(02:05:45)
And my commitment to you is that we will not let happen what happened under the Biden Administration, when the administrator lied about having funds and then when disaster hit a few days later, found out that they had run out of money. And homeowners across this country, business owners, went without for months.

(02:06:02)
And so, appreciating the need to be responsive. We've brought in a great disaster team. We've strengthened it to make sure that that recovery and resilience force is on the ground, as it is today with hundreds of employees deployed across America right now as we speak.

Jimmy Patronis (02:06:20):

The one element of your job that I don't think the members realize is how you have to surge after a disaster. You don't run an agency with the anticipation you're going to have a storm every day. So, you try to have to be efficient with your resources. And so, explain to us a little bit how challenging that is and how important it is about how you manage the surge component to take care of people.

Kelly Loeffler (02:06:46):

Well, we've brought in an experienced leader in disasters, Chris Stallings, who is ensuring that he brings to bear all of his experience in responding to disasters on the ground in Georgia and a national network. And he is on the phone with states every single day, and also monitoring weather developments or other developments that might constitute a disaster, to ensure that we are a ready rapid-response force when it happens.

(02:07:15)
And I think the job that we've done to date is reflective of the job we will continue to do. We are reporting to you monthly on the resources left in that program, which are, under the current budget, sufficient to get us well through the year at current elevated levels. So, we are not only managing the people resources, but the financial resources, and partnering with states, as we do every single day.

Jimmy Patronis (02:07:41):

Well, it's crazy. You take a storm like Milton, incredible damage to Florida, but it was one of the worst storms in the history of Georgia and North Carolina. So, it's not just work in one state, it's multiple states. I just don't think people realize how much you have on your plate and how much efficiency you've done in the short time you've been there. So, thank you for your leadership. I yield the time.

Kelly Loeffler (02:08:04):

Thank you, Congressman. It's an honor.

Mr. Williams (02:08:04):

The gentleman yields back. I now recognize Mr. Latimer from the great State of New York for five minutes.

George Latimer (02:08:10):

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank you, Madam Administrator. I stay in close contact with the businessmen in my [inaudible 02:08:16] to some very specific information. I think that is my decision [inaudible 02:08:21]. Sorry. Thank you. Sorry about that. I apologize. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, Madam Administrator. I want to report back to the businesses in my communities, which I stay in close contact with some of these information. It is correct that you have closed the New York City SBA office in Federal Plaza? Is that correct?

Kelly Loeffler (02:08:43):

Congressman, we are working on moving offices out of sanctuary cities.

George Latimer (02:08:48):

And I'm asking, did you close the office? Is it still open, or is it closed at this moment in time?

Kelly Loeffler (02:08:52):

I believe it's still open.

George Latimer (02:08:53):

It's still open? I'll note that Federal Plaza is where Federal Courthouse is, where we have New York Police Department headquarters and other government organizations right in the Wall Street area. Very safe, secure area and easily accessible by mass transit. Are we continuing to operate, just for nearby purposes, the Bridgeport, Connecticut office, or we intend to close that?

Kelly Loeffler (02:09:17):

I can get you a list of the offices that we currently have open. I believe we still have it. And we have our Small Business Development Centers as well across the New York and Connecticut areas.

George Latimer (02:09:27):

And what about Newark, New Jersey? Is that office open, closed, planned to be closed?

Kelly Loeffler (02:09:33):

Like I said, I can get you the full list. Right now, I believe they're operating.

George Latimer (02:09:37):

All right. I will share that with the folks that we have.

Kelly Loeffler (02:09:40):

And I've indicated that the offices that we are closing had no staff.

George Latimer (02:09:41):

What is the headcount expected of the Long Island office that will replace the New York City office?

Kelly Loeffler (02:09:48):

Well, certainly, we want to optimize our field to ensure that small businesses are being served. We think that sometimes for small businesses to approach a federal building can be intimidating and not as accessible. And particularly when they're in sanctuary cities-

George Latimer (02:09:59):

I don't mean to be rude, but I just wanted a specific number. You don't have that number at this stage in the game.

Kelly Loeffler (02:10:04):

Yeah, we're developing it.

George Latimer (02:10:04):

All right. Okay.

Kelly Loeffler (02:10:04):

And we'll continue to-

George Latimer (02:10:07):

So, I'll report that we don't know how many people will be in the Long Island office replacing that, which is the New York City office.

Kelly Loeffler (02:10:11):

We'll have sufficient staff to meet the needs of small businesses.

George Latimer (02:10:13):

When I went onto your website, I did not see any specific information regarding tariffs, and that is the single most asked question that I get from small businesses. "What are the tariffs? What's the percentages?" Do you intend to have a distinct page on small business website that a business can go to to look at and see what the tariff policies are?

Kelly Loeffler (02:10:34):

Congressman, on our home page, we have our Onshoring portal that allows small businesses to access resources that can direct them to onshore suppliers, to strengthen their supply chains and ensure that they aren't dependent-

George Latimer (02:10:45):

But you don't have specific information that… When a business is trying to price its product to service, it needs to know certain specific information. And it needs to know exactly what the tariffs are for the particular country, for the particular product. Just yesterday, there was an announcement that steel and aluminum may be going from 25% up to 50%. We don't know if that's true. There may be a deal that comes down tomorrow, or maybe not, with a company. And I want to be able to direct someone. And so, either you do or you won't have that in the Small Business Administration website. Do I assume that that is not the case? You're going to refer them to some other location for that information?

Kelly Loeffler (02:11:20):

The tariff conversations are ongoing, and the president has implemented 10% reciprocal tariffs in the meantime.

George Latimer (02:11:26):

Amongst other things.

Kelly Loeffler (02:11:27):

And the administration will continue to ensure that [inaudible 02:11:29] for now-

George Latimer (02:11:29):

All right. We'll try to find the information I can and I'll share it. Should I inform the small businesses in my area that the organization is going to cease all efforts for women, minority and disabled-owned businesses, the initiatives that have existed in the past, given the policies toward inclusion, diversity and equity?

Kelly Loeffler (02:11:48):

That's incorrect, Congressman. We're streamlining and unifying our services to ensure that there's not confusion and too much bureaucracy for small businesses to deal with.

George Latimer (02:11:58):

Does that mean there will continue to be programs for women, minority and disabled organizations?

Kelly Loeffler (02:12:03):

Our services are available to all who qualify. We don't pick winners and losers. We don't pick based on political propensity.

George Latimer (02:12:07):

Well, no one's asking you to pick it, but there've been specific initiatives. I'm not meaning to be contentious, but there's been specific initiatives to assist those who are women-owned businesses, minority-owned businesses and disabled-owned businesses. And those initiatives which assist people in those categories, are they going to be continued, or are they going to end?

Kelly Loeffler (02:12:23):

We continue our compliance with statutory requirements for small business contracting.

George Latimer (02:12:29):

That doesn't sound like a firm commitment, but I appreciate your answers. Mr. Chairman, I yield back my time.

Mr. Williams (02:12:36):

The gentleman yields his time back. I now recognize Mr. Jack from the great State of Georgia for five minutes.

Brian Jack (02:12:41):

Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman. And Administrator, as the only Georgian on this committee, I'm very excited for your testimony today. And I very much enjoyed working not just with you, but many of your senior leadership within Small Business Administration during my previous life when I worked for President Trump in the White House. I heard some of my colleagues invoke Richard's name, Mr. King, and who, I think, is doing a fantastic job for you, Wesley as well. So, want to commend you for the team that you've assembled around you, and likewise your leadership.

(02:13:10)
For my colleagues across the dais, and likewise for anybody watching at home, I would love to walk through the impact that you've already created in my district in a positive way. In April, you took time to come visit Troup County. And again, for everybody to understand the time and devotion she gave to my district and our state, she came to Troup County. She visited, we, together, visited Jane Foods. Used to be known as Kimble's. And I say that because it's interesting. They shared with us that they started through an SBA loan, and that's one of the reasons why they continue to serve a community I represent for the last 50 years.

(02:13:48)
We then had a wonderful round table with the Troup-LaGrange Chamber of Commerce and thereafter, walked down a few streets in LaGrange, visited Solomon's Department Store. Been around for over 100 years, a small business. Had lunch at Charlie Joseph's, went to Taste of Lemon restaurant. So, I just want to commend you for the attention that you've already provided to my district and welcome any thoughts from that trip with respect to what you learned.

Kelly Loeffler (02:14:12):

Well, thank you, Congressman. It was great to be with you in the third district, in LaGrange, walking on the town square. These main streets are truly the heartbeat of our country. And what we saw was not just the ingenuity of Main Street and how they create jobs and opportunity. We also visited a manufacturer and saw that they are spring-loaded for growth thanks to President Trump's policies. And we're really pleased to be able to promote the administration's agenda of Made in America manufacturing.

(02:14:44)
We heard from an aerospace manufacturer that with the Big, Beautiful Bill Act, if it passes, there will be more investment, more jobs in this country, more Made in America. So, from Main Street, from Charlie Joseph's all the way to aerospace manufacturing, it's vitally important that we support the administration's agenda with access to capital, reducing regulation that is so burdensome. We heard that from every small business owner. And then, we also heard the need to reduce regulations, spending and taxes.

(02:15:19)
So, that's just the consistent focus we hear, but it's really great to see that in a state like Georgia, it's working and manufacturing is very strong.

Brian Jack (02:15:28):

Well, and I'm glad that you mentioned, too, that your role is leading the Small Business Administration to fulfill the administration's agenda and the president's priorities. And to respectfully rebut some of my Democrat colleagues' line of questioning throughout this hearing with respect to the location of offices, I just want to clarify, over 70% of Americans support President Trump's immigration policies. And they do not want to see in the incentive structure that we saw over the last four years, reward illegal immigration.

(02:15:55)
So, by working with jurisdictions that respect federal law enforcement policy and honoring those jurisdictions that do so, which, by the way, should be every jurisdiction across America, it's a shame that it's not, in effect, in my mind, you're fulfilling what the American people demanded at the ballot box last November and welcome any thoughts from you, again, with respect to the relocation of some offices.

Kelly Loeffler (02:16:18):

Absolutely. President Trump won in a landslide because people want the open-border policies to end. They want their cities and streets to be safe. They want to be in cities that uphold federal law, that cooperate with ICE. And I'm grateful for his leadership, and I'm proud to support those policies.

(02:16:36)
So, we see that working because we know that small businesses have often been terrorized by crime. And worse, we've heard horrible stories about this. And we're making sure that small businesses are safe, that our employees are safe, and that we support jurisdictions that support federal law.

Brian Jack (02:16:53):

And in our last 50 seconds of this hearing today, would love for you, too, just to walk through. Made in America is something that we all very much care about. Again, that was a cornerstone campaign promise President Trump made, and everyone else on this side of the dais made during our campaigns that led us to the House majority. Would welcome any closing thoughts from you on what SBA is doing to ensure that we continue to fulfill that promise.

Kelly Loeffler (02:17:15):

Well, the SBA is supporting President Trump's focus on Made in America. And we're so proud to have our Made in America manufacturing initiative to be out with manufacturers across the country, who are investing in advanced manufacturing, who are going to regain our industrial dominance in the world.

(02:17:34)
And President Trump has been the only president for decades to have the backbone to stand up against countries that have put this on the backs of our manufacturers and our hardworking Americans where their cities were hollowed out. So, we're grateful to President Trump and supporting his work there.

Brian Jack (02:17:49):

Thank you, Administrator. Mr. Chairman, I yield.

Mr. Williams (02:17:51):

Gentleman yields back. I'd like to thank Administrator Loeffler for being here today, for your testimony, and for taking time to come to see us. And also, both sides have participated fully in this hearing and we're glad for that. And without objection, members have five legislative days to submit additional materials and written questions for the witnesses to the chair, which will be forwarded to the witness. I ask the witness to please respond promptly. If there's no further business, without objection, the committee is adjourned.