House Small Business Committee advances seven bills altering SBA rules, staffing and lending oversight

The House Committee on Small Business on May 21 advanced seven bills affecting the Small Business Administration (SBA), voting to report each measure to the full House after debate and roll-call votes.

Committee members said the package aims to refocus the SBA on lending and small-business services, tighten oversight of nonbank lenders, and reduce regulatory burdens. Ranking members and other Democrats countered that the bills are largely messaging measures that could disrupt SBA operations, increase costs, or impede access to SBA programs.

The bills the committee reported would: (1) bar certain SBA activities described by sponsors as "electioneering" (H.R. 2968, Business Over Balllots Act); (2) require relocation of a portion of SBA headquarters staff into the field (H.R. 2027, Returning SBA to Main Street Act); (3) codify citizenship/immigration verification for some SBA applicants (H.R. 2966, American Entrepreneurs First Act); (4) relocate SBA offices out of jurisdictions deemed "sanctuary" by sponsors (H.R. 2931, Save SBA from Sanctuary Cities Act); (5) limit the number of Small Business Lending Companies (SBLCs) the SBA may license (H.R. 2987, the CS Act); (6) impose an SBA regulatory budget cap and require agency reporting on regulatory costs (H.R. 2965, Small Business Regulatory Reduction Act of 2025); and (7) create new procedures for petitions and retrospective review under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (H.R. 1163, Prove It Act of 2025).

Why it matters: Committee Republicans framed the package as restoring the SBA to its core mission of helping Main Street — reducing fraud, limiting political activity, and moving staff closer to lenders and entrepreneurs. Democrats and several witnesses warned the…