WASHINGTON—House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) and House Financial Service Committee Ranking Member Patrick McHenry (R-NC) have sent a letter to the Small Business Administration alleging a “lack of communication and responsiveness” over questions posed by Congress to the agency.
Luetkemeyer and McHenry urged the SBA to take immediate action to review outstanding inquiries from all members of Congress and increase communication with their offices, small businesses, and the lenders that assist them.
Specifically, the letter said there has been a lack of information regarding the SBA's Economic and Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program.
"Small businesses and their workers across the country are urgently waiting for answers. They simply do not have the luxury to wait months," wrote Luetkemeyer and McHenry. "Many of these programs are temporary, therefore delayed responses will not suffice."
Earlier Letter Sent
Earlier this month, House Small Business Committee Republicans led by Luetkemeyer sent a letter to Speaker of the House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to detail their concerns regarding a proposal included in the Build Back Better Act granting the SBA direct-lending abilities, NAFCU noted.
A group of 15 Senate Republicans also joined together to express concerns about the proposal in a letter sent to Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D -NY) and the Senate and House Small Business Committee chairs, Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Nydia Velasquez (D-NY), respectively.