Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here today as we debate the first set of Committee on Small Business bills. Our committee has a long tradition of putting politics aside to deliver for our Nation's small business employers.

Small businesses employ roughly half of the private workforce, create the majority of new jobs, drive innovation, and generate almost half of our Nation's economic activity. They are the heart and soul of our communities. Whether it is a neighborhood childcare center, or a bakery on Main Street, they are creating neighborhood jobs and reinvesting in the local economies.

More than 21 million small businesses were launched during the previous administration, with a vast majority of the applications being filed by women, including women of color. This is a clear indicator of positive growth and strong entrepreneurial activity, but more work needs to be done.

Today, we are considering seven bipartisan bills that will create additional opportunities for entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, my hope is that we can work together to conduct oversight of the Trump administration's policies. I have been particularly troubled by the pauses in Federal funding to small businesses, inflationary tariffs, and Elon Musk's access to the SBA's HR, contract, and payment systems. I welcome the opportunity to look into these matters in a bipartisan way.

Mr. Speaker, turning to our first bill, H.R. 825 will prohibit anyone convicted of defrauding the government during the COVID-19 pandemic from receiving an SBA loan.

The Small Business Administration disbursed approximately $1.2 trillion in economic aid during the pandemic. The vast majority of this aid served as a lifeline, helping to keep small businesses afloat during troubling and uncertain economic times.

Unfortunately, bad actors took advantage of the program early in the pandemic when SBA removed or weakened internal controls. Upon taking office, the Biden administration reinstituted longstanding antifraud controls and put new safeguards into place to curb the flow of pandemic dollars to fraudsters.

Before issuing a loan, the SBA would screen applicants on the government's Do Not Pay list and then check its internal database for fraudulent flags or holds. Borrowers had an opportunity to clear their names, but the SBA did not move forward until the holds were cleared.

The bill we are considering today has the same effect as the actions taken by the Biden administration, and it sends a strong message that SBA will not do business with anyone who defrauded the government.

Mr. Speaker, the single most important action that Congress can take to recover fraudulent pandemic funds is to fully fund the inspector general and give the office the resources it needs to go after the bad actors.

Former Representative Luetkemeyer and I sponsored two bills, which became law, to extend the statute of limitations for fraud in the PPP and the EIDL program to 10 years. Without additional resources, the OIG will not be able to capitalize on these new laws, and American taxpayers will lose out.

In closing, I appreciate the bipartisan work of Chairman Williams, and Representatives Simon and Mfume.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Simon).

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from California.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Olszewski).

Mr. Speaker, I gladly rise in support of this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Velazquez for this opportunity to speak. I thank Chairman Williams for working with me to introduce this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this effort to prioritize small businesses in the future through funding opportunities by preventing pandemic fraudsters from accessing Federal small business funds.

Like other communities around the United States, in California's 12th District, small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. Over 29,000 small businesses in our district bolster our region. These businesses struggled throughout the pandemic.

In Oakland's downtown, for instance, many of these institutions are fighting day in and day out just to stay afloat. I thank the Small Business Administration employees who work hard to support them.

These wonderful Federal employees have been connecting with small businesses in our district with emergency assistance, access to capital, advice on how to keep the doors open in the darkest times, how to pay their workers, and how to be strong servicemembers in our community. I have heard from many of these Federal workers who say they have been under assault by this current administration.

Just last month, I visited the Small Business Administration field office. Less than 2 hours after I left, two of those employees had received layoff notices.

Mr. Speaker, firing Federal employees in this moment does not decrease the need or importance of the agency; it just makes it harder for entrepreneurs, for restaurateurs, for childcare operators, and others to keep their employees paid, to keep their doors open, and to keep our downtowns thriving.

Every dollar that Congress gives to the Small Business Administration in this moment means the difference of a small business opening and employing folks or filing for bankruptcy.

The Small Business Administration has provided $1.2 trillion, let me say that again, $1.2 trillion in Paycheck Protection Program loans and other emergency assistance during the pandemic. As the ranking member has told us, unfortunately, there have been serious bad actors who took advantage of these funds, and those folks defrauded not only the government, but they defrauded the mom-and-pop shops on Main Street and, in my case, on Broadway.

Those dollars could have been used to create jobs, revitalize communities, and to help those businesses stay open and thrive. Instead, these fraudsters took advantage of the lax application screenings, which we believe may have resulted in them receiving at least 17 percent of the total Small Business Administration assistance.

Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration has created new safeguards to reduce the potential for this fraud, but this legislation that is supported by our committee would build

on this effort, making convicted fraudsters ineligible for Federal small business assistance.

Mr. Speaker, as someone who has driven a payroll for over 30 years, I cannot express how important this legislation is at this moment. We love and support our small businesses with all that we have.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 825) to prohibit individuals convicted of defrauding the Government from receiving any assistance from the Small Business Administration, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 825, the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act.

Mr. Speaker, SBA financial assistance programs are critical to entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, fraudsters infiltrated pandemic-era loans at an alarming rate. An estimated $200 billion was stolen from honest, hardworking small businesses who needed help when they were forced to close their doors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The harm these fraudsters caused small businesses is devastating to see.

My bill creates accountability and ensures fraudsters are banned from receiving SBA resources for the rest of their lives. As chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, it is my duty to support America's small businesses, not fraudsters.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support prioritizing honest, hardworking entrepreneurs over those who defrauded the government, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this important legislation will hold these fraudsters accountable, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. I also thank the chairman for bringing this legislation forward along with my colleague from California (Ms. Simon).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act, legislation that will help ensure that small businesses who need and deserve support get it, while cutting out fraudsters seeking to exploit vital relief programs.

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. They create jobs, they foster innovation, and they drive our local communities forward. They should be who we lift up and support, and they rightly are the beneficiaries of many Small Business Administration programs.

However, far too often, we have scammers taking advantage of these worthy programs. We saw this, for example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, and other relief funds were a lifeline for so many, but were also exploited by bad actors to the tune of an estimated $36 billion.

This bill ensures that will no longer happen again. It protects taxpayer dollars, ensuring that they go where Congress intended: only to the legitimate small businesses of our country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for bringing this forward. Government efficiency is a good thing, but there is a right way to go about it and a legal way to go about it. This bill is a great example of a bipartisan way to go forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, on the morning of February 24, 2025, I was attending the University of Minnesota's National Security Research & Innovation Day in my district, and the flight I took back to Washington, D.C. was delayed departing from Minnesota. This resulted in my absence from the House during three suspension votes on February 24, 2025. Had I been present, I would have voted AYE on Roll Call No. 43, H.R. 825, the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act; Roll Call No. 44, H.R. 832, the Small Business Advocacy Improvements Act; and Roll Call No. 45, H.R. 818, the SPUR Act.