Letters Came Amid Complaints From Small Business Owners That Their Applications Were Not Considered
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D -NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, joined a bipartisan letter with 47 of his Senate colleagues to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. urges the SBA to process the COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application received before May 6, 2022 by the agency.
On Thursday, April 28, the SBA announced May 6, 2022 for COVID EIDL loan modifications, increased demand, and reconsideration of denials. Many applicants who submit applications before the deadline remain in limbo because of the SBA’s decision to stop processing certain applications. Conversely, the SBA has issued vague commitments to process “workable” applications, which has resulted in many eligible borrowers not receiving the funds they need.
“While we recognize that the institution has assisted a number of small businesses that have never been in a pandemic, our office then listens from thousands of prospective borrowers who are awaiting consideration,” the Senator wrote. “We also then heard from EIDL applicants with disputed denials who did not receive communication from the administration in months. EIDL was a lifeline for businesses throughout this pandemic, but many of them continued to struggle. The program was too important to be shut down in advance. Still, we expect the SBA to process all eligible applications and appeals that have been submitted by the request deadline.
Senator Rosen has been a leader in supporting small business recovery programs to save jobs in Nevada, where 99% of businesses are considered small. Last year, he successfully lobbied the SBA to raise loan limits under the COVID EIDL program, which has provided loans to nearly four million small businesses since the beginning of the pandemic – becoming an important source of capital for small businesses, especially those that can. not allowing credit to survive a pandemic from another lender.
“Given that many applicants did not receive final consideration, we find it difficult to understand the SBA’s decision to stop processing requests submitted by the May 6 submission deadline … necessary,” the senator said. “We find it very disturbing that your agency continues to tell our office that the loan cannot be completed because of a depletion of funds when the $ 800 million loan subsidy remains – sufficient to support loans of more than $ 7 billion.”
The full text of the message can be found here.
