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New SBA Administrator Kelly Leffler tells Georgia lawmakers she will prioritize fraud cleanup, Made-in‑America and regulatory rollbacks
Summary
Kelly Leffler, newly confirmed as Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, addressed the Georgia House about SBA priorities including cracking down on pandemic-era fraud, shifting procurement to U.S. suppliers, eliminating certain programs and returning SBA staff to the office full time.
Kelly Leffler, the newly confirmed Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, addressed the Georgia House on Monday and outlined a set of early priorities for the agency focused on fraud remediation, domestic manufacturing and regulatory rollbacks.
Leffler told the chamber she had been confirmed and sworn in “less than two weeks ago” and said Georgia’s one‑point‑two million small businesses are central to the state economy. “They make up 99% of all of our businesses and they create two out of every three new jobs,” she said, adding that supporting manufacturers and cutting red tape are top objectives.
Leffler said the SBA is taking steps to “crack down on fraud” tied to pandemic-era programs and cited a figure she attributed to past-era fraud totaling “nearly $200,000,000,000” that she said the prior administration failed to fully prosecute. She said the agency will also pursue a “Made in America” agenda to reduce dependence on foreign supply chains, and that only U.S. citizens should benefit from SBA programs.
She said SBA offices will be moved out of “sanctuary cities” into jurisdictions that comply with federal law and that the agency would end voter-registration programs begun under the prior administration. Leffler also said the agency will require SBA employees to return to full‑time, in‑office work.
Leffler highlighted SBA disaster assistance operations in Georgia, saying the agency established field centers in the state after recent storms and had dispersed nearly $100 million to Georgians affected by disasters since late September. She described the SBA as focused on “restoring our founding mission” to empower small businesses.
Speaker John Burns and others welcomed Leffler. The remarks included both policy statements and numbers provided on the House floor by the administrator; members praised her Georgia ties and welcomed a federal official outlining priorities that they said would affect local businesses.
