Republican Texas Rep. Roger Williams sent a letter Tuesday to the Small Business Association (SBA) slamming the agency over a new rule that would give it the ability to distribute small business owners’ personal information.
The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the letter to the SBA from Williams, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Small Business. In the letter, he expresses his concern over a new rule that would give the SBA administrator the ability to give out personal information of small business owners who utilized the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at the request of any government agency.
Currently, the Small Business Act states that “a SBDC, consortium of SBDCs, or contractor or agent of a SBDC” may not disclose personally identifiable information, such as a name, address, or phone number, without that small business’ consent. The only exceptions to this are for a court order, a financial audit, or client surveys conducted by the SBA.
The new rule, proposed on Dec. 13, 2022, would allow the SBA to disclose personally identifiable information from small businesses that use SBDCs to federal or state agencies at the discretion of the SBA Administrator. The committee fears agencies like the IRS will easily be able to access small business data without the businesses’ knowledge. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Sign Pledge To Oppose Biden Admin Adding 87,000 IRS Agents To Labor Force)
“Entrepreneurs should not be fearful that utilizing resource partners from the SBA will allow for any government agency to request confidential information about their business. Unfortunately, this rule implemented by Biden’s SBA will do just that and is a step in the wrong direction when it comes to Americans’ privacy,” Williams told the Caller before sending the letter.
READ THE LETTER HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — … by Henry Rodgers
“This new rule would give the SBA Administrator the ability to give out personal information of small business owners who utilized a SBDC when any government agency requests it. It is paramount that business owners have the right to privacy as they begin their entrepreneurial journeys, and our Committee looks forward to getting more information about these changes,” he added.
The committee is also worried that businesses will not understand or be able to prevent the administrator from sharing all their information with any other government agency that requests the data. In the letter, Williams requests a staff briefing on the proposed rule changes. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Ernst Introduces Legislation To Hold SBA Accountable For $200 Billion In Fraud)
Williams also requests a list of federal agencies that have requested small businesses’ personal data from the SDBC program over the last 10 years, including justifications, and the number of businesses, if any, whose information has been shared with federal agencies outside of the provisions listed within the Small Business Act.
Williams requested a staff-level briefing no later than September 19, 2023.