A House committee has issued subpoenas to two officials with the Small Business Administration after not receiving answers about a program designed to register swing state voters for a month.
In March, the SBA announced a partnership with Michigan state government to connect small business owners with voter registration information, according to Fox News.
The partnership with Michigan’s Democrat-run Department of State, which oversees elections, “will help connect Michiganders to vital voter registration information from the State of Michigan, so that more small business owners can exercise their right to vote,” SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said at the time.
SBA’s Isabel Guzman: Michigan’s deep state female flake.
“The SBA’s sole mission is to help Main Street thrive and grow, and they have repeatedly strayed from that mission to pursue outside political objectives…”https://t.co/h91RoGAtRg
— ElectionNotes (@ElectionNotes) May 7, 2024
But the House Committee on Small Business has questions about the project, and for the past month has tried to interview SBA Chief of Staff Arthur Plews and his special adviser, Tyler Robinson.
In April, a letter to the agency said it was “unacceptable for the SBA to divert resources from serving small businesses, so it can register voters in Michigan.”
Because the two were no-shows, subpoenas were issued in what the committee said was the first time it had subpoenaed the agency.
“The SBA’s MOU with the Michigan Department of State is improper, inappropriate, and perhaps, unconstitutional,” committee chair Rep. Roger Williams of Texas said.
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“The SBA was created for one reason: to assist our nation’s small businesses. It has no reason whatsoever to involve itself in political and potentially electioneering activities. Moreover, the fact the SBA would divert resources away from Main Street, so it can focus on voter registration in a battleground state is an affront to our job creators especially for all they do for our communities and economy. Americans have a right to know what exactly is going on here, and this Committee plans on getting answers,” he continued.
“The fact that we are having to issue subpoenas to speak with SBA officials is extremely disappointing,” he said in a news release on the committee’s website.
“The committee has given these two individuals the opportunity to speak with us voluntarily, but this appears to be the only way to get them to comply with our constitutionally mandated oversight responsibilities,” he said.
Biden’s been misappropriating the state of Michigan’s SBA funds to register Democrat voters.
— JD Sharp (@imjdsharp) May 7, 2024
“The American people deserve answers and transparency on the electioneering activities of the SBA and how they have or plan to insert themselves in the upcoming federal elections. The SBA’s sole mission is to help Main Street thrive and grow, and they have repeatedly strayed from that mission to pursue outside political objectives,” he said.
Republican Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania said it was “unconscionable that during such a precarious time for our nation’s small businesses, the sole federal agency created to serve as their advocate is instead utilizing their limited taxpayer resources and time to advance partisan political campaigns.”
“It shows a total disregard for our nation’s small businesses and gross administrative malpractice,” he said.
“The SBA’s MOU with the Michigan Department of State is a blatant attempt by the Biden Administration to illegally use the SBA as an extension of the President’s campaign. They are working to elect Democrats, which is abundantly clear considering registration efforts are targeted at cities like Detroit and other urban areas,” he said.
“This is a scandal and yet another illegal action from President Biden. Those involved in this illegal effort will be held accountable,” he said.
“At every step, the Small Business Administration has obstructed our investigation into the Biden Administration’s misuse of taxpayer dollars for campaign efforts,” Republican Rep. Beth Van Duyne of Texas said. “We will not stop investigating and are committed to exposing the truth.”
The letter sent by the committee noted that it has been unable to secure testimony from the SBA officials since early April and that the SBA had not provided anything other than superficial written information that did not answer the panel’s questions.
