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In a hearing with the House Small Business Committee today, Rep. Celeste Maloy questioned SBA Administrator Isabel Guzman about the lack of responsiveness from the Small Business Administration as Utah tries to partner with them to help small businesses in the state thrive. 

Rep. Maloy: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Administrator Guzman, thanks for being here. You've heard from a lot of my colleagues. I'm not going to go over everything they've already brought up. I just want to say I share the concerns of my colleagues about SBA being involved in elections and in things that are outside the mission of the SBA for structural reasons by themselves, but also because I'm concerned about the SBA being focused on helping small businesses. I represent Utah's Second District. Utah is a really business friendly state, very entrepreneurial. And our state, our state legislature, our governor's office, worked really hard to create a business-friendly environment that fosters small businesses in Utah, and I have never heard them say anything about wanting more federal involvement in anything, but they are excited about being able to partner with the SBA to help small businesses. Nobody ever asks me about Project 2025. I've never read it. It's not something that I'm concerned about, but I am concerned about making sure the small businesses thrive in in Utah, including family farms. I do hear a lot from constituents about wanting to be able to hand down family farms. I hear a lot from Utahns about wanting to make sure their small business takes off, that they can support their families. And to that end, our state and our chambers have been excited to be part of SBDC, small business development centers. And what I'm hearing is that they like the idea. They're disappointed with the execution of it. They feel like SBA isn't being very responsive. So the state, understandably, wants to be able to monitor goals and metrics of success, annual reports, things like that, but they found the SBA unresponsive and unwilling to be a true partner. And the end goal should be the same for the state, for higher ed in Utah, for SBA in Utah, that we want to create an environment where small businesses can thrive. So what I want to know today is, are you going to commit to investigating and correcting the lack of responsiveness from SBA to the state entities that their partners with, that they've signed agreements with, and what can we do to help make that happen?

Administrator Guzman: I’m happy to look into what's happening with our Utah SBDC. We award these on a state basis, and then they have sub grants to multiple entities around the state. In having managed the program in California and working directly with the SBDCs out there, I'm happy to provide support. And Governor Cox and I have had conversations about the importance of investing in small business and pleased to see some of our advancements in Utah. Our very first accrual SBIC was launched in Utah with Pelion Ventures, and so I'd be happy to follow up on that to understand what's happening with our SBDCs. But we grant them funds. They choose their partnerships locally. They are independent nonprofits, but I'm happy to explore. I'm sure they would be as well.

Rep. Maloy: Yeah, I know there are independent nonprofits, but they have felt like the administration hasn't been really helpful as a partner. And if we're going to have a federal agency helping foster small businesses, I want to make sure that it's actually working for the small businesses in Utah, so I will have my staff follow up with you, and we'll work together with the state and iron that out and make sure it's actually working.

Administrator Guzman: Great.