Central ND News

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) has joined forces with U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and John Kennedy (R-LA) to reintroduce the Protecting Access to Credit for Small Businesses Act in response to President Biden's budget proposal that would allow the Small Business Administration (SBA) to issue direct loans through the 7(a) lending program. Senator Cramer expressed his concerns, stating, “The proposal to allow the SBA to directly make loans under the 7(a) lending program is a glaring example of the Biden administration undercutting the private sector.” He emphasized the importance of protecting small businesses' access to credit and preventing government overreach in direct lending.

Senator Scott also voiced his opposition to the administration's proposal, highlighting the SBA's history of failure and inefficiency in direct lending compared to the private sector. He criticized the government's attempt to control the direct lending space, stating, “There’s simply no reason to use the federal government to funnel tax dollars that will later be loaned back to small businesses.”

Similarly, Senator Kennedy raised concerns about fraud and inefficiency in the SBA's direct lending history, emphasizing the importance of not crowding out private lenders that effectively serve small businesses. He expressed pride in partnering with Senator Scott to prevent the SBA from replacing private lenders with government bureaucrats.

The legislation, supported by organizations such as America’s Credit Unions and the Bank Policy Institute, aims to prohibit the Biden administration from implementing the direct 7(a) lending program. Additional cosponsors of the bill include U.S. Senators Jim Risch, Chuck Grassley, Steve Daines, James Lankford, Joni Ernst, John Cornyn, Tom Cotton, Rick Scott, and Mike Braun.

The Protecting Access to Credit for Small Businesses Act seeks to safeguard the role of private lenders in providing capital to small businesses and prevent government manipulation of the lending market.