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I’d like to welcome Inspector General Ware. Thank you for being here today. The past three years have been extremely challenging, and we commend you for your oversight of the pandemic relief programs, as well as making sure that the Small Business Administration’s core programs are working effectively for small businesses.

Every year, your office issues the Top Management Challenges Report and the Semiannual Report to Congress. These reports call attention to long-standing issues and identify some of the biggest challenges facing the agency.

As the Ranking Member of the Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations Subcommittee, I want you to know that your work will guide this Committee throughout the year as it conducts oversight of the SBA. I anticipate much of the discussion today will focus on the pandemic relief programs. Since 2020, SBA has distributed more than a $1 trillion in economic relief to small firms. While the economic aid was vital in keeping millions of small businesses afloat during the pandemic, we know through your work that there was a significant amount of potential fraud related to the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program.

Much of this potential fraud can be traced back to the early days of the pandemic when programs were new, loan volume was high, and the need to get the loans out quickly was the priority. This committee took steps to address the problems and make sure the money went to small businesses that needed it and not bad actors.

To that end, I supported bipartisan legislation to extend the statute of limitations for fraud in the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program in the last Congress. These two bills, which became law, sent a strong message that unscrupulous behavior will not be tolerated and those that committed fraud will be held accountable in the years to come.

The SBA – under the leadership of Administrator Guzman – has also taken significant steps to combat fraud in the pandemic relief programs. Today, it will be important to hear your perspective on the progress the agency has been making and learn more about your combined efforts to recover stolen funds.
Oversight of the pandemic relief programs will be a top priority for years to come. And your office will play a central role. I recognize that you will need additional resources to investigate the fraud and bring bad actors to justice, and expect to hear more about your FY 2024 budget request.
It is also important to know what is working well with the agency, and what more needs to be done to ensure the core SBA programs are working effectively.

I am committed to working with my colleagues on the Committee, the Administration, and your office to root out fraud, bring fraudsters to justice, and find bipartisan solutions to make the SBA program run more effectively.