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Republican leaders on the House and Senate Small Business Committees have accused the Small Business Administration (SBA) of wasting taxpayers’ money over its handling of a $100 million program it was responsible for overseeing. It is accused of being
SBA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report this week identifying gaps in SBA’s ability to measure and manage the Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP). CNPP is a rescue program created under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Small businesses have not received enough support during the pandemic recovery.
President Biden, from left, Vice President Harris, Bright Futures Learning Services CEO Jill Scarbro, and US Small Business Administration (SBA) Secretary Isabel Casillas Guzman (Ting), speaking at the National Small Business Conference.・Shen/Bloomberg) Getty Images/Getty Images)
Although the SBA issued a $99.9 million grant for the two-year program, the OIG highlighted several concerns about the agency’s oversight. For example, audits show that the SBA does not set goals to reach the number of underserved clients and that some organizations tasked with performing services avoid double-counting performance results. We found that we could not fully assess the success of the program because we could not confirm that the .
The OIG made five recommendations to improve SBA’s oversight if the program is updated, some of which SBA agreed to in its response to the report. However, the SBA expressed concerns about targeting underserved populations due to legal and programmatic risks. The agency also acknowledged the challenge of restricting data sharing due to privacy laws.
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The Biden-Harris administration and several prominent Democrats have touted the CNPP as one of the success stories of the American Rescue Plan. However, after the release of the OIG audit, House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (R-Texas) and Senate Small Business Committee Ranking Member Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) both criticized the plan. pointed out that it was a failure.
Congressman Roger Williams, Republican from Texas and chairman of the House Small Business Committee, speaks during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee in Washington, DC, United States, Tuesday, December 13, 2022. (Photographer: Al・Drago/Bloomberg) Getty Images/Getty Images)
“It’s disappointing that the SBA’s Community Navigator program has failed to deliver on its promise to support America’s small businesses,” Williams told FOX Business. “This plan not only produced uncertain results, but also cost American taxpayers $100 million.”
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He added, “As we have seen repeatedly with the Biden-Harris SBA, the mismanagement of this program has left serious questions regarding the transparency and accountability of taxpayer investments.”
Senator Ernst had strong words for the SBA regarding the OIG report.
Sen. Joni Ernst speaks during a press conference after the weekly Senate Republican Policy Luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on September 10, 2024 in Washington, DC. During the press conference, Senate Republicans spoke on a wide range of topics, including (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The Community Navigator program was a complete dumpster fire and a classic example of government wasting taxpayer dollars while failing to strengthen small businesses,” Ernst said, calling the program ” It was called “profiteering.”
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“The Biden-Harris Administration spent $100 million as part of pro-inflationary spending without a ‘set goal,’” the Republican continued. “This may be a drop in the bucket in Washington’s ocean of waste, but small businesses operating on razor-thin profits will be forced to close if they are this financially irresponsible.”
The SBA had not commented to FOX Business by the time of publication regarding the Republican lawmakers’ criticism.
