The mission of the SBA is straightforward:
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) helps Americans start, grow, and build resilient businesses.
In 1953, the federal government established the SBA as an independent agency to aid, counsel, assist, and protect the interests of small businesses. SBA reviews congressional legislation and testifies on behalf of small businesses. It assesses the impact of a regulatory burden on small businesses. (Copied from the SBA website)
It helps American small businesses. Not Republican. Not Democrat. American.
The SBA an independent Agency.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), small businesses contributed 55 percent of the total net job creation from 2013 to 2023. The SBA 7(a) loan program, its major program, is self-sustaining, relying on fees instead of taxpayer subsidies.
On June 5th, the house passed H.R. 2931: Save SBA from the Sanctuary Cities Act of 2025.
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The summary of the bill reads:
This bill requires relocating a regional, district, or local office of the Small Business Administration (SBA) if the SBA makes a public determination that the office is located in a sanctuary jurisdiction. The SBA must relocate that office, within 60 days of such determination, to a location that is not a sanctuary jurisdiction.
Under the bill, a sanctuary jurisdiction is a state or political subdivision thereof that prohibits or restricts any government entity or official from (1) exchanging with another government entity information regarding the citizenship or immigration status of an individual; or (2) complying with specified requests by the Department of Homeland Security.
The SBA may not establish an office in a sanctuary jurisdiction.
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What will happen if the Senate passes this bill?
First there is the cost.
Real estate:
First, since there is only a 60 day window to find a suitable location, there won’t be a lot of time to negotiate a favorable lease. I am sure they will have to overpay.
Second, after acquiring the space, will renovation be necessary to meet the SBA’s needs? Installing security systems, IT infrastructure, permits, partitions, etc.
Third, breaking the old lease will incur costs, besides cleaning and repairs.
Logistics
The cost of movers. The cost to pack and unpack at the new site.
Personnel:
If this move is over 50 miles, it’s possible the government may have to pay relocation fees to the employees. If there are employees that don’t want to move, then there is the cost of temporary staffing and overtime. There will also be unemployment money that could have to be paid out.
Consumers
If the office is being moved from the city to a rural area, then it is not near most of its customers. This will be a bigger problem with disaster relief.
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H.R. 2931 is nothing more than an attempt by the administration to add one more log on the immigration fire.
This makes no sense. According to surveys by the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) and others, most small business owners identify as Republican or at least lean that way.
This turns this agency into a political pawn in an issue that has nothing to do with the SBA. Instead of lashing out and hurting small business, it would make more sense to spend those energies into creating a comprehensive emigration bill.
