Rep. Mark Alford (R-OH) told Breitbart News in an exclusive statement that his legislation to relocate Small Business Administration (SBA) offices across America gives small businesses a “seat at the table.”
Alford proposed H.R. 2027, the Returning SBA to Main Street Act, which passed out of committee on partisan lines, or 15-11. The legislation would decentralize the SBA bureaucracy by moving 30 percent of its offices across the country so that the agency could be more integrated with the communities it is meant to serve.
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), the Senate Small Business committee chair, proposed the Senate companion version of the legislation.
Alford, the Small Business Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee chairman, said in a statement, “We are one step closer to giving rural small businesses in Missouri’s Fourth District and across our great nation a seat at the table.”
He said that by passing the bill out of committee, “Republicans are making it clear to small business owners: the days of empty SBA headquarters, unanswered phone calls, and inadequate access to capital and counseling are over.”
“I look forward to passing this critical legislation on the House floor to drain the swamp and ignite a new golden age for American job creators,” he added.
House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Williams (R-TX) said, “Small businesses across the country are faced with unique challenges. Despite this, the SBA is not located on Main Street, but instead, centralized in Washington, D.C.”
He remarked, “By moving Agency employees to Main Street, this bill will ensure the SBA is more responsive and in tune with small businesses nationwide.”
A 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) study found that the SBA had only used roughly ten percent capacity thanks to increased telework. Alford’s office has noted that they have received countless complaints from constituents that have been unable to obtain basic services from the SBA.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
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