A trio of top Republican senators accused the Biden administration for allegedly shuffling resources intended for small businesses into a “climate slush fund” in a letter exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa, James Risch of Idaho and Marco Rubio of Florida on August 9 sent a letter to Small Business Administration (SBA) head Isabel Guzman, accusing her agency of undermining Community Advantage, a program intended to provide loans to small businesses, by enrolling new lenders that will focus on “support[ing] small businesses’ efforts to reduce climate change.” The group of lawmakers also voiced suspicion regarding the SBA’s recent collaboration with the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Reduction Fund, noting that the SBA’s July 22 announcement that it would be coordinating with the multi-billion dollar green energy grant program came right after Vice President Kamala Harris became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
“Once again, Vice President Kamala Harris is funneling tax dollars into Green New Deal handouts,” Ernst told the DCNF. “The federal government exists to serve the American people, not as a slush fund for Kamala Harris’ campaign. Small businesses have been put through the wringer under this administration, and the SBA needs to be focused on delivering relief, not getting out the vote for radical climate mandates in swing states on the taxpayer’s dime.”
Small business optimism dropped to a more than 11-year low in April, with American business owners concerned about inflation, sales volume and the quality of labor. Small business owners reported being somewhat more optimistic about the economy last month, however, a greater percentage said inflation was their biggest problem and optimism sat below the fifty-year average for the 31st straight month under the Biden-Harris administration, according according to National Federation of Independent Businesses data.
As small business owners voice anxiety about the state of the economy, the SBA has announced that it will allow a limitless number of 504 loans for “clean energy projects” in a maneuver the three senators say will lower “the availability of capital to other small businesses such as manufacturers.” Through 504 loans, the SBA offers small businesses fixed-rate loans worth up to $5.5 million to purchase assets that promote business growth and job creation.
“When American small businesses are struggling with the high cost of inflation, the SBA’s relentless focus on clean energy initiatives is out of touch with the practical challenges small businesses face and is merely a carveout for select favored industries,” the letter sent by Republicans to Guzman reads.
The senators also pointed out that by adding new “green” lenders, the SBA could further endanger the access small businesses have to funds as the agency’s Office of Credit Risk Management found in November 2022 that it could only handle three new lenders. The lawmakers demanded an analysis from the SBA proving that it will be able to sufficiently oversee its new climate-focused lenders.
Additionally, the three senators requested information on recent loans issued through SBA programs.
This isn’t the first time the SBA has been under suspicion of using taxpayer resources to help Democrats win elections, as the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) submitted a records request in July over the agency’s voter registration efforts in Michigan.
“Based on some of the evidence we’ve seen, there is absolutely cause for concern that the Biden administration’s SBA is targeting certain demographics as part of its partisan voter registration effort,” AFPI executive director for litigation Mike Berry told the DCNF at the time. “For example, there is evidence to suggest that the SBA’s largest presence is in the Michigan counties with the highest concentrations of registered Democrat voters, while at the same time it is least active in the Michigan counties with the highest concentrations of small businesses and registered Republican voters per capita.”
In May, Ernst and House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams, a Republican from Texas, sent a letter to the SBA demanding traveling schedules, calendars and other documents related to its voter outreach efforts in swing states. The duo wrote to the SBA again in July demanding documents but was rebuffed, spurring the House Small Business Committee to issue a subpoena.
The SBA did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.
(Featured image credit: Emily Boren/Us Department of Energy, Flickr.com)
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