U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) is calling on the Small Business Administration (SBA) to enact a law that requires a public price tag to be placed on anything paid for with the assistance of an SBA grant.
A provision to that effect was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023, at Ernst’s suggestion. Specifically, the provision states that projects funded with an SBA grant must clearly state:
• The percentage of the total costs of the program or project which will be financed with federal money;
• The dollar amount of federal funds for the project or program; and,
• The percentage and dollar amount of the total costs of the project or program that non-governmental sources will finance.
However, Ernst points out that the SBA is not currently enforcing the law.
“It’s a simple concept: If the public is being asked to pay for something, taxpayers deserve to know the price. The SBA gives out more than $290 million in recurring grants a year. That’s a lot of money. Taxpayers should be able to decide for themselves if they are getting a good deal on the dollars they are sending to Washington. Right now, we have no way of doing that because negligent bureaucrats at Biden’s SBA are refusing to follow the law,” Ernst, ranking member of the Small Business Committee, said.
In a letter to SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, Ernst said the SBA has a responsibility to provide guidance and monitor grantee compliance with this statute to ensure taxpayers know where SBA’s funds are going.
“In light of this being Sunshine Week, the annual celebration of the public’s right to know what the government is doing, I am calling on the SBA to stop keeping taxpayers in the dark and comply with the law. I know sunlight is the best disinfectant, because I’ve stopped billions of dollars of wasteful spending by shining a bright light on it, including my recent effort to force SBA to recollect billions of dollars of delinquent small business loans,” Ernst said.