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Rep. Roger Williams says shutdown stalled small-business lending and urges focus on affordability and growth
Summary
In an interview on Morning in America, Rep. Roger Williams (R-Tex.) said the government shutdown stalled Small Business Administration services and stalled Main Street lending, argued recent tax changes and deregulation have improved the economy, and said a further interest-rate cut would boost hiring; he did not offer a specific legislative proposal.
Rep. Roger Williams (R-Tex.) told Morning in America that the recent government shutdown left many small businesses unable to get loans because the Small Business Administration (SBA) was effectively closed. "The SBA was shut down. People couldn't get their loans. People couldn't get, papers processed," he said, describing Main Street as "really at a standstill."
Williams framed the shutdown as a past event the Republican majority moved quickly to remedy, saying lawmakers voted to reopen the government after what he called the "Schumer shutdown" and that attention should now be on recent policy achievements. He listed "permanent" tax cuts, "less regulations for banks," and "100% expensing" as measures he credited with improving conditions for businesses and farmers, adding that "they got a $30,000,000 increase on what they can pass on to their families"; he did not specify which program or statute that figure referenced.
Asked how he responds to Americans struggling with affordability as the midterms approach, and to workers affected by missed paychecks during the shutdown, Williams emphasized private-sector solutions. He said competition and access to capital drive job creation, repeated that small businesses are hiring, and downplayed the threat of tariffs to his businesses, noting his experience as a car dealer. "The tariffs don't scare me," he said, adding that banks and cash availability returning to the market would ease conditions for Main Street.
Williams also argued that a reduction in interest rates could sharply improve the economy: "If we have one more rate cut, we'll see an economy we haven't seen for years," he said, pointing to increased inventories and lender activity. The interview contained no formal policy proposals, bill names, statutory citations, or votes. The host noted polling indicating Republicans have received more blame than Democrats for the shutdown; no poll source was named during the interview.
Williams spoke from the perspective of a lawmaker who is also a business owner and chair of the House small-business committee; he described conversations with Main Street owners about difficulty obtaining SBA loans during the shutdown. The segment did not include independent verification of the claims about loan processing delays, the $30,000,000 figure he cited for farmers, or the unnamed polling data.
The interview ended without announcements of upcoming legislation or votes; Williams closed by reiterating optimism for hiring as business operations resumed.
