Chairman Williams, Chairman Bost Write to U.S. Domestic Policy Council Regarding the SBA’s and VA’s Implementation of Biden-Harris Electioneering Executive Order

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congressman Roger Williams (TX-25), Chairman of the House Committee on Small Business, and Congressman Mike Bost (IL-12), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, wrote to Director Neera Tanden of U.S. Domestic Policy Council expressing concerns with the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) and Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) implementation of Executive Order 14019 Promoting Access to Voting (E.O. 14019). Chairman Williams and Chairman Bost issued the following statements.

"For months, we have been investigating the SBA's electioneering efforts in Michigan," said Chairman Williams. "President Biden's electioneering executive order requires agencies to submit a strategic plan for implementation, but the SBA has continued to defy our subpoena and have refused to hand it over. This document is key to understanding exactly what the SBA has dedicated taxpayer resources towards. Small businesses need an SBA that works for them, and despite their stonewalling we remain committed to uncovering the true extent of this Administration's electioneering efforts."

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"I have said it before and I will say it again, for VA's entire existence it has never operated as a voter registration agency until this Biden-Harris executive order. Yet, we continue to receive little to no information on what this administration is doing registering voters in one specific region of Michigan," said Chairman Bost. "It's completely unacceptable that Secretary McDonough and his senior leaders at VA continue to act like they are above Congress's oversight authority by failing to provide this Committee with all documents outlined in the Committee's lawful subpoena, which was issued earlier this year. I want to thank my friend and colleague, Small Business Chairman Roger Williams, for working with me on this vitally important issue to hold the Biden-Harris administration accountable to provide taxpayers with transparency they can trust. We will not stop pushing for answers to make sure no wrongdoing has occurred."

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Read the full letter here.

Read excerpts from the letter below:

"As Chairmen of the House Committee on Small Business and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs (the Committees), we write to express our concerns with the Small Business Administration's (SBA) and Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration's Executive Order 14019 Promoting Access to Voting (E.O. 14019). Specifically, we are concerned by the SBA and VA's withholding of their strategic plans regarding the implementation of E.O. 14019 at both respective agencies. Particularly as both respective agencies continue to refuse to fully comply with the congressional subpoenas that have been issued by both Committees. These strategic plans are essential for Congress and the American people to understand why both agencies are engaging in get-out-the-vote efforts in Michigan, and what logic led both agencies, in coordination with the Domestic Policy Council, to pursue this skeptical voter registration strategy in one specific state.

"The House Committee on Small Business first requested this document in its April 4, 2024, letter to the SBA, and was forced to subpoena the document on July 30, 2024. Despite initially officially claiming that such a document did not exist, the Committee identified Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation which showed the requested strategic plan did exist. After providing this information to the SBA, the SBA conceded the strategic plan's existence, and claimed their misstatement was largely attributable to the Agency labeling the submitted strategic plan as a "draft." Despite this revelation, the SBA has inexplicably refused to produce the strategic plans submitted to the White House to the Committee on Small Business.

"The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs first requested VA's strategic plan on July 9, 2024, following VA's failure to respond to Committee staff's prior requests. When VA failed to respond, the Committee sent additional letters on July 22 and August 12, 2024, reiterating the previous request. Ultimately, VA failed to comply, forcing the Committee to authorize a subpoena to VA for the requested documents on September 12, 2024. To date, VA has failed to fully comply with the subpoena by not producing the department's strategic plan or explaining why they are unwilling or unable to do so.

"These strategic plans are valuable for understanding both the SBA's and VA's intentions when entering their respective MOUs with the State of Michigan, would provide critical insight into these agencies' stewardship of taxpayer dollars to execute this get-out-the-vote initiative, and would clarify the legal basis for SBA and VA taking on newfound roles in voter registration efforts. Given that the strategic plans submitted by the SBA and VA under E.O. 14019 have since culminated in official agreements with the State of Michigan, it appears these plans are no longer merely deliberative. Further, since the strategic plans submitted under E.O. 14019 were only actionable by the respective agencies, these documents likely do not exist for the purposes of presidential decision-making, therefore they should be released to our respective Committees immediately. As such, we do not see a justification for the SBA and VA's unwillingness to produce forthright and complete document productions."

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