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Congressional Daily Record
This section captures a floor statement or debate entry. It mentions legislation such as Small Business Lending Fraud Prevention Act, members such as Roger Williams.
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June 23, 2026
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Download official House Record PDFReturn to issue contextMr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7401) to require employees of the Small Business Administration to certify that the employee does not have any prohibited conflicts of interest with respect to loans in which the employee is involved, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7401
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the “Small Business Lending Fraud
Prevention Act”.
SEC. 2. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION EMPLOYEE CONFLICT OF
INTEREST CERTIFICATION.
(a) In General.—Beginning on the date that is 270 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, an employee of
the Administration that will personally and substantially
participate in the origination, review, or approval of a loan
administered by the Administration shall, prior to such
participation in such loan, certify to the Administrator in
writing that such employee—
(1) to their knowledge, does not have any conflict of
interest prohibited under section 208 of title 18, United
States Code, or section 2635.502 of title 5, Code of Federal
Regulations, with respect to such participation in such loan;
(2) upon learning of any such conflict of interest after
submitting such certification, will immediately disclose such
conflict of interest to the supervisor of such employee and
recuse themselves from participating in such loan; and
(3) understands the requirements applicable to such
employee under Federal law and regulations of the
Administration regarding conflicts of interest with respect
to such participation in such loan.
(b) Regulations.—Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment, the Administrator shall issue regulations
implementing this Act.
(c) Definitions.—In this Act:
(1) Administration.—The term “Administration” means the
Small Business Administration.
(2) Administrator.—The term “Administrator” means the
Administrator of the Administration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Olszewski) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 7401, the Small Business Lending Fraud Prevention Act, introduced by the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser) and the gentlewoman from New Hampshire (Ms. Goodlander).
statements in order to fraudulently secure over $500,000 in pandemic relief loans for herself and family members. When the SBA initially denied the loans, the SBA employee approved them herself.
which SBA employees approved loans to relatives or others who were barred from conflict of interest rules and noted that such cases were rarely prosecuted. We must take serious steps to avoid such cases in the future. It should not be possible for fraud like this to occur.
layer of security to crack down on loan fraud. H.R. 7401 requires SBA employees to certify that they have no conflicts of interest before processing a loan, to disclose any conflicts immediately, and to recuse themselves if a conflict of interest is discovered.
appropriately. This bill will provide a safeguard against improper loan approvals and establish a clear basis for prosecution if an employee knowingly approves loans prohibited by conflict of interest rules.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 7401, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Small Business Lending Fraud Prevention Act.
their bipartisan work on this bill, which would enhance SBA's internal processes to further detect fraud.
to making false statements after approving more than $550,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 pandemic loans for herself and for family members.
employee, and referred the case to the Office of Inspector General. This proves that the process worked. However, requiring loan officers to attest that they are not violating any conflict of
approve a loan is a simple step that further reinforces ethical standards and reminds them that misconduct has consequences. Implementing this practice will help to increase accountability, strengthen compliance, and deter fraud.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we must pass H.R. 7401 to strengthen integrity in SBA lending programs by requiring employees involved in loan decisions to certify they have no prohibited conflicts of interest.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. OLSZEWSKI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, in closing, this committee has played an integral role in conducting oversight of SBA programs, especially the pandemic relief programs. Approximately $1.2 trillion of economic aid was distributed through SBA's pandemic relief programs over the course of the pandemic, providing economic relief to small businesses all over the country.
become clear that we need to work together to recover fraudulent dollars. The previous administration took strong steps to root out fraud and to put internal controls in place to prevent it, and the Inspector General has been working diligently to uncover fraudulent schemes.
The bottom line is that the current process worked. The bad actor at the SBA was identified, investigated, and prosecuted. Moving forward, SBA employees being required to certify there is no conflict of interest before approving a loan provides an extra layer of security which will help deter fraud.
working together on this bill that enhances conflict of interest laws at SBA and provides even more accountability.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 1500
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 7401 to support transparency, accountability, and public confidence in the administration of SBA loans, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Williams) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7401.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. WILLIAMS of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.