Scammers Hit Main Street. Republicans Are Making Them Pay

The SBA suspended $39 billion in loans tied to 870,000 borrowers linked to suspected fraud, the largest action in the agency's history.

Trump administration announced crackdown on Obamacare fraud

As the White House Fraud Ledger shows, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has detected more fraud than any other agency. Through Vice President JD Vance's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, the Trump administration is eliminating waste, fraud and abuse at historic rates.

When Covid shut down the country, small business owners did what they could to keep their doors open. They drained their savings, skipped paychecks and fought to keep employees on the payroll.

As small businesses fought to survive, fraudsters stole billions of dollars from the programs meant to keep them afloat. The Biden-Harris administration had years to hold the fraudsters accountable. It never did. Under Republican leadership, that era is over.

The White House launched interactive maps to track billions of people suspected of cheating

Last month, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler stood with Vice President Vance in Kansas City, Missouri, to announce the suspension of 870,000 borrowers linked to $39 billion in suspected fraud, the largest action of its kind in the agency's history.

As Chair of the House Small Business Committee, I have worked closely with Administrator Loeffler to pursue this money and ensure that Main Street is not left high and dry. Every dollar a scammer gets is a dollar a family business doesn't get.

SBA's Biden Harris knew the covid scam was widespread and still failed to act. By 2023, the SBA's Office of Inspector General estimated that more than $200 billion in pandemic loans may have been made to fraudsters. Agency leadership said at the time that the real figure was closer to $36 billion.

When our committee asked then-SBA Administrator Isabella Guzman to explain the $164 billion difference, she refused to testify. So, we kept digging.

The White House pushed for anti-fraud reform in Congress by forming the Vance Task Force

Our committee spent 18 months reviewing pandemic loan programs. What we found was deeply disturbing. Instead of fixing its broken controls, Biden's SBA pointed the finger at the private lenders it worked with. It even stopped collecting fraudulent loans under $100,000, worth about $11 billion, because it didn't want to make borrowers look strong.

Unfortunately, payday loans aren't everything.

Just look at the 8(a) program, which helps disadvantaged small businesses compete for federal contracts. It only works when those companies do the work themselves. Transition schemes, where the winning company hands over the work to someone else, cheat the very businesses the program was intended to help.

In an effort to curb fraudulent spending, Director Loeffler did something no one had done in nearly 50 years: He audited the entire program. When hundreds of companies refused to hand over their financial records, he proceeded to fire them. The SBA also closed loopholes that allowed loans to be issued in the names of children and deceased persons, some of whom were listed as over 115 years of age.

Republicans in the House have contributed to this improvement from the beginning and ensure the sustainability of these reforms. In June, the House passed the My Covid Fraud Transparency Act, which requires the SBA's inspector general to report quarterly to Congress on Covid loan fraud. My committee also introduced proactive anti-fraud bills, including Rep. Dan Meizer's (R-Pa.) Small Business Loan Fraud Prevention Act and my bipartisan Put America on Commission Act.

I have spent my career in the car business and know that paying commissions pays off. My bill, the Put America in Commission Act, would reward Americans who provide credible tips about rampant mortgage fraud, funded through fines paid by convicted fraudsters.

When I became the president, I said that we will not write this money. Democrats spent four years ignoring this fraud and were ready to forgive billions of dollars. House Republicans, along with Director Loeffler and Vice President Vance, will continue to pursue it so that the next time mom-and-pop stores need help, they don't have to stand in line behind scammers.

Roger Williams, a Republican, represents Texas' 25th congressional district, including Fort Hood, in the United States House of Representatives.

Get roundups of top reviews and original content throughout the week.