Senate Small Business Committee advances Paul amendment to S.298; several Markey amendments fail

The Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship considered S.298, the Returning SBA to Main Street Act, which would relocate portions of the Small Business Administration workforce outside the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and set percentage targets for redistributing staff.

The chair described the bill as a way to “relocate and reallocate the SBA's workforce to locations outside of the DC Metro Area, reduce telework, and redistribute SBA resources throughout America.” The bill’s sponsors were identified on the record as including senators Blackburn and Scott of South Carolina.

Ranking Member Markey said members had “real concerns that must be addressed before this bill can be implemented,” arguing the measure could harm employee recruitment and retention, and called it…