More than 3,000 small business owners on Wednesday urged Congress to authorize the Small Business Administration (SBA) for the first time in more than two decades.
In a letter organized by Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Business Program, small business owners called on lawmakers to modernize the SBA, which relies on archaic technology and struggles to process COVID-19 relief loans for companies.
“The SBA was on the front lines of the federal government’s response to the pandemic, and it helped millions of small businesses stay open and retain workers. But the pandemic has also exposed significant gaps, inefficiencies, and areas where SBA reform is needed to more effectively support our nation’s job creators and innovators,” they wrote.
Goldman Sachs also launched a TV ad showing senators from both parties calling for reauthorization. The company hopes a divided Congress starting in January will see the SBA reauthorization as one of the few bipartisan bills that Democrats and Republicans can unite behind.
About 2,500 small business owners from the Goldman Sachs group bombarded Capitol Hill in July to build support for the reauthorization. They warned that a recession could doom many small businesses that are already struggling with inflation, supply chain issues and rising interest rates.
Reauthorizing the SBA would ensure that more small businesses have access to capital and make its programs much easier to navigate, advocates say.
The senses. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Arizona) and Tim Scott (RS.C.) expressed hope that lawmakers will finally reform the SBA at the July event.
“I’m confident it will happen,” Scott said. “I hope it will happen soon.”
