Microloan Transparency and Accountability Act of 2021

Floor Speech

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Mr. FITZGERALD. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1487.

Unlike large businesses with access to debt and equity markets, small businesses rely on commercial banking to fund their operations. Should a creditworthy small business be unable to obtain a conventional business loan, the Small Business Administration can help the small business by offering access to capital through the microloan program. The microloan program allows nonprofit intermediaries to make loans of up to $50,000 to small businesses, along with technical assistance.

The program has grown from approving $52 million in loans in 2015 to over $80 million in 2019. Despite this growth, the SBA produces minimal statistics that are needed to evaluate a government guarantee loan program.

This commonsense legislation will require the SBA to produce an annual report detailing additional information about microloans that have defaulted and the number of loans provided to rural areas.

We owe it to Americans to conduct basic oversight to protect their taxpayer dollars while expanding opportunities for rural small businesses to grow and innovate.

I urge a "yes'' vote on this bill to ensure small businesses hit hard by the pandemic have robust access to capital, regardless of their size and location.

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