Pursuant to 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. At the time this report was filed, the Committee has requested but not received a cost estimate from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
VIII. NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, ENTITLEMENT AUTHORITY, AND TAX EXPENDITURES
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the following opinion and estimate with respect to new budget authority, entitlement authority, and tax expenditures. While the Committee has not received an estimate of new budget authority contained in the cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee does not believe that there will be any new or increased costs attributable to this legislation.
IX. OVERSIGHT FINDINGS & RECOMMENDATIONS
In accordance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the oversight findings and recommendations of the Committee on Small Business with respect to the subject matter contained in H.R. 826, as amended, are incorporated into the descriptive portions of this report.
X. PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the goal of H.R. 826, as amended, is to improve transparency and congressional oversight of fraud involving COVID-era SBA loans.
XI. STATEMENT OF DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 826, as amended, is known to be duplicative of another Federal program, including any program that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.
XII. CONGRESSIONAL EARMARKS, LIMITED TAX BENEFITS, AND LIMITED TARIFF BENEFITS
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e), 9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives.
XIII. FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT
The Committee will adopt as its own the estimate of the Federal mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
XIV. FEDERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE STATEMENT
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this legislation.
XV. APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to the terms and conditions of employment or access to public services or accommodations within the meaning of section 102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
XVI. STATEMENT OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY
Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House, the Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in Art. I, Sec. 8, cl.1 of the Constitution of the United States.
XVII. MINORITY VIEWS
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) disbursed approximately $1.2 trillion of COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funds to help small businesses adversely impacted by the crisis.\1\ In an effort to disburse PPP and COVID-19 EIDL funds swiftly, the SBA weakened and removed internal controls. Beginning in early 2021, long- standing anti-fraud controls were reinstituted and new safeguards were put into place by the Biden-Harris Administration to reduce the potential for fraud.\2\ On June 27, 2023, the SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued a white paper reporting that the SBA disbursed more than $200 billion in potentially fraudulent pandemic relief.\3\ The SBA also issued a report, entitled ``Protecting the Integrity of the Pandemic Relief Programs,'' which estimates that $36 billion of the $1.2 trillion in pandemic relief was obtained fraudulently.\4\ The SBA report asserted that 86% of the likely fraud occurred in the first nine months of the pandemic,\5\ under the Trump Administration. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\Off. of Inspector Gen., U.S. Small Bus. Admin., Report 25-10, COVID-19 Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape, Recommendations Update (Mar. 31, 2025). \2\Off. of Inspector Gen., U.S. Small Bus. Admin., Report 23-09, COVID-19 Pandemic EIDL and PPP Loan Fraud Landscape (2023). \3\Id. \4\U.S. Small Bus. Admin., Protecting the Integrity of the Pandemic Relief Emergency Programs: SBA'S Actions to Prevent, Detect, and Address Fraud (Jun. 27, 2023). \5\Id. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As fraudsters increasingly exploited the weakened controls at the SBA and the complexity of the schemes grew, the OIG coordinated with multiple agencies. The OIG participated in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)'s COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams and has 494 open investigations, as of February 28, 2026. Their work has resulted in 1,860 indictments, 1,404 arrests, and 1,209 convictions, with $1.3 billion in restitution ordered, and $1.2 billion in assets seized or forfeited.\6\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \6\Off. of Inspector Gen., U.S. Small Bus. Admin., SBA OIG Congressional Newsletter (Feb. 2025). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The OIG's ability to further combat fraud is highly dependent on the availability of budgetary resources. The Administration's FY 2027 budget provided $33.3 million, a reduction of $3.7 million for the OIG. It is important that the OIG have a sufficient operating budget to capitalize on two laws (P.L. 117-165 and P.L. 117-166), which extended the statute of limitations for fraud in the PPP and EIDL programs to 10 years, as well as H.R. 4495, the SBA Fraud Enforcement Extension Act, which would extend the statute of limitations for the Shuttered Venues Operating Grants and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund. The legislation to require quarterly reporting will provide the Committee with additional data.
Nydia M. Velazquez, Ranking Member.