SBA Administrator Loeffler Issues Memo on Day One Priorities

Outlines how SBA will become an America First engine for free enterprise

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following her confirmation and swearing-in as the 28th Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, Kelly Loeffler issued a Day One memo outlining her top priorities for the agency.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our nation, driving innovation, job

creation, and prosperity – and there’s no stronger advocate for small business than President Trump or myself. But over the last four years, the SBA has burdened entrepreneurs with bureaucracy – with its programs becoming mired in fraud, waste, and abuse,” SBA Administrator Loeffler said. “That changes today. My first priority is rebuilding the SBA into an America First engine for free enterprise – by empowering small businesses and fueling economic growth.

“From day one, we will uphold the highest standards of accountability, performance, and integrity, where taxpayer dollars will be safeguarded, not squandered. We will streamline operations, drive efficiency, and ensure programs deliver real results. It’s a new day at the SBA, and I’m honored to lead a team that is committed to serving America’s job creators and citizens when disaster strikes.”

The following priorities have been distributed to all SBA staff as the agency prepares to carry out President Trump’s America First agenda and empower small businesses to thrive:

Supporting President Trump’s America First Agenda

1. Promoting “Made in America” with U.S. manufacturing: The vast majority of America’s manufacturers are small businesses, and SBA programs have powered tens of thousands of them. This agency is committed to supporting the America First agenda by rebuilding American supply chains and investing in manufacturing to strengthen our economy and national security. The agency will transform its Office of International Trade into the Office of Manufacturing and Trade – which will focus on promoting economic independence, job creation, and fair trade practices to power the next blue-collar boom. SBA will also partner across agencies to scale innovative manufacturing and technology startups that will help our nation return to “Made in America.” 

2. Implementing President Trump’s executive orders: SBA will enforce all of President Trump’s executive orders including Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government, Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing and Unleashing American Energy. To date, SBA has already taken the following actions:

• Eliminated the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility, placing DEIA employees on administrative leave.
• Paused grants across the agency that do not comply with President Trump’s executive orders.
• Paused the Green Lender Initiative to reverse the previous Administration’s favoritism for Green New Deal ventures that did not support America’s return to energy dominance.

3. Supporting the Department of Government Efficiency: SBA will continue working closely with President Trump’s DOGE as the federal government moves into a new era of accountability, transparency, and efficiency. SBA will prioritize eliminating fraud and waste within the agency, to ensure American taxpayer dollars are utilized in the most productive way possible to benefit small businesses and economic growth and resilience.

4. Mandating full-time, in-office work for SBA employees: Pursuant to President Trump’s Return to In-Person Work presidential memorandum, SBA will require all employees, unless exempt, to return to their respective duty stations five days a week as of today, Monday, Feb. 24, 2025.

5. Prioritizing workforce optimization: As part of the broader effort to support President Trump’s workforce optimization initiatives, SBA will continue to evaluate workforce reduction measures, including the overhaul of all advisory boards, to ensure the agency is operating with maximum efficiency to deliver results for U.S. taxpayers, small businesses, and those affected by disaster.

Eliminating Wasteful Spending and Cracking Down on Fraud

6. Cracking down on fraud: SBA’s loan programs should be a powerful tool for empowering small business formation and delivering critical aid to disaster victims. The prior Administration left these programs with unaddressed fraud – including an estimated $200 billion in pandemic-era fraud. Starting today, the SBA will institute a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and investigate fraud across all programs. The agency has established a Fraud Working Group and will appoint a Fraud Czar to identify, stop, and claw back criminally obtained funds on behalf of American taxpayers – working across agencies to prevent fraud.

7. Conducting an agency-wide financial audit: As fraud has risen, so too have delinquencies, defaults, and charge-offs on loan programs, exacerbated by the previous Administration’s lax loan underwriting, servicing, and collection efforts. As a result, SBA has not satisfactorily completed a financial audit for several consecutive years. Therefore, the agency will request an independent audit of its financials to address mismanagement, restore the credibility of financial statements, and preserve the solvency of public-private programs like the 7(a) lending program and the Small Business Investment Company program, which are designed to drive economic growth without taxpayer subsidy.

8. Protecting the solvency of loan programs and restoring underwriting standards: Likewise, SBA will review all options to protect the solvency of its lending programs, including revising practices that have jeopardized the zero-subsidy status of programs like 7(a). The agency will also restart its dormant collections programs effective immediately. Furthermore, SBA will restore its underwriting standards, ensuring taxpayer dollars only go to supporting eligible small businesses across America – by conducting a full review of current lending SOPs, ending the “Do What You Do” standard for lending, and enhancing oversight of non-bank lenders.

9. Banning illegal aliens from receiving SBA assistance: Programs funded by American citizens should only benefit American citizens. Consistent with President Trump’s Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Open Borders executive order, the agency will implement a policy banning illegal aliens from receiving any taxpayer-funded assistance from SBA – putting U.S. citizens and America first.

10. Restricting hostile foreign nationals from accessing SBA assistance: Similarly, in the interest of national security, the agency will implement measures to prevent hostile foreign nationals, especially those with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, from accessing SBA assistance.

Empowering Small Businesses

11. Creating a strike force to cut regulation: For the first time in years, SBA will fully staff and empower the Office of Advocacy to utilize its power to identify and eliminate burdensome regulations promulgated by all federal agencies, as authorized by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, the Congressional Review Act, and other statutes. The Administrator will work alongside the Chief Counsel for Advocacy to cut past and future regulations across the board and partner with all federal agencies to ensure they are working to reduce bureaucracy and costs for job creators and promote successful business formation. 

12. Improving SBA customer service, technology, and cybersecurity: Respecting that small businesses must perform for their customers, the SBA must meet performance standards across our own operations. Working with DOGE, the SBA will review the agency’s multiple digital interfaces. To streamline and improve user experience across all platforms, the agency will also review its technology for cybersecurity, response times, and customer satisfaction – including by collaborating with the White House on the application of artificial intelligence. 

13. Promoting fair competition by returning 8(a) contracting goals to statutory levels: The previous Administration increased the 8(a) federal contracting goal for Small Disadvantaged Businesses to an all-time high of 15%. This action unfairly tipped the scales against any small business that did not qualify as “disadvantaged,” negatively impacting many veteran-owned small businesses. As part of a broader effort to support competition and equal access to federal contracting for all small business owners, SBA has returned the 8(a) SDB contracting goal to its statutory level of 5%.

14. Relocating regional offices out of sanctuary cities: To better serve Main Streets across America, especially in rural areas, SBA will relocate regional offices currently based in sanctuary cities to less costly, more accessible locations in communities that comply with federal immigration law. Additionally, Administrator Loeffler commits to personally visiting SBA’s regional offices and district offices – to facilitate a continuous dialogue with small business owners and hear directly from local job creators about real-world challenges and opportunities to support growth and innovation. 

15. Ending partisan voter registration activities: The SBA will end all taxpayer-funded voter registration activities – starting by rescinding the agency’s 2024 Memorandum of Understanding with the Michigan Secretary of State’s office, which forced SBA district offices to conduct partisan voter registration on behalf of the previous Administration. Instead, the agency will return its focus to its founding mission of empowering job creators, delivering disaster relief, and driving economic growth.

About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of entrepreneurship. As the leading voice for small businesses within the federal government, the SBA empowers job creators with the resources and support they need to start, grow, and expand their businesses or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.