Republicans Criticize Small Business Administration Over $100M Taxpayer-Funded Program

Top Republicans on the House and Senate Small Business Committees have sharply criticized the Small Business Administration (SBA) for a $100 million taxpayer-funded program that they describe as a 'boondoggle.' The program in question is the Community Navigator Pilot Program (CNPP), which was established under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to support underserved small businesses.

Audit Findings and Criticisms

The SBA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a report highlighting significant gaps in the agency's ability to measure the program's effectiveness. The audit revealed that the SBA did not set a target for the number of underserved clients to reach and failed to ensure that some grants were properly managed. The OIG made five recommendations to improve the SBA's oversight of the program, but the SBA expressed concerns about setting targets for underserved populations due to legal and programmatic risks.

House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (R, Texas) and Senate Small Business Committee Ranking Member Joni Ernst (R, Iowa) have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with the program. Williams stated, 'It is disappointing to see that the SBA's Community Navigator program fell short on its promise to support America's small businesses. Not only has this program yielded uncertain results, but it did so at a cost of $100 million to the American taxpayer.' Ernst described the program as a 'complete dumpster fire and textbook example of government throwing away taxpayer money.'

Response from the SBA

The SBA acknowledged the challenges highlighted in the OIG report, including data sharing limitations due to privacy laws. However, the agency did not provide a comment on the GOP lawmakers' criticisms at the time of publication.

The criticism comes as the Biden-Harris administration and several Democrats have previously touted the CNPP as a success story. However, the recent audit and subsequent GOP backlash have cast significant doubt on the program's effectiveness and the SBA's management of taxpayer funds.