The Small Business Administration (SBA) officially referred to the signing of the Paycheck Protection Program and the Bank Fraud Compliance Harmonization Act, as well as the Fraud Statute of Limitations Act of Loans for Economic Damages by COVID-19.

“America's 33 million small businesses are giants in our economy and vital for communities across America. Thanks to the President's leadership, America's small business economy is open and growing. In this Administration's first year alone, 5.4 million Americans applied to start new businesses, 20 percent more than any other year on record. And their success is powering our nation's economic recovery, supporting strong job creation and historic unemployment,” said Isabel Guzmán, SBA’s Administrator.

Guzmán pointed out:

We reinstated basic controls stripped under the previous Administration and leveraged technology to raise the bar on security while always putting customer experience with speed and certainty first.

The SBA Administrator also noted that legitimate businesses and small businesses still have a clear path to access emergency financial lifelines.

"Millions of small business owners will tell you that PPP, COVID EIDL, and other critical relief programs at the SBA were vital to their ability to reopen, rebuild and grow. President Biden was committed to getting funds into the hands of the businesses that it intended to serve. The SBA course-corrected on critical relief programs plagued with challenges and scaled our systems to manage risk, reduce fraud and abuse, and ensure good stewardship of taxpayer resources across our programs,” highlighted Guzmán.

Millions of small business owners will tell you that PPP, COVID EIDL and other relief programs at the SBA were critical to their ability to reopen, rebuild and grow. @POTUS was committed to getting funds into the hands of the businesses who it intended to serve. https://t.co/z3sD17UDJL

— Isabel Guzman (@SBAIsabel) August 5, 2022

Rebuilding the Road

The SBA emphasizes how during the previous administration many of these resources were misused and even different proven fraud scenarios were promoted.

“Pandemic fraud under my predecessor cheated the American people. Today's bills prove watchdogs are back,” stated President Joe Biden through his Twitter account. 

"Despite our great progress, we know some of the loans approved under the previous Administration were not legitimate. I have personally worked closely with Inspector General Hannibal Ware and our dedicated teams to ensure transparency and track down the people who abused these relief programs so they can be held accountable. This legislation extends the runway for those investigations and the prosecutions they support,” explained Guzmán.

The Administrator also appreciated the bipartisan leadership in the House and Senate, including the efforts of House Small Business Committee Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez, and Ranking Member Blaine Luetkemeyer, in getting this legislation passed.