WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-Md.) today issued the following statement on the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General’s (IG’s) management alert on the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Advance grants programs:

“EIDL has been a vital tool for millions of small businesses, including the 3 million small businesses that have received a loan and the 6 million small businesses that have received an EIDL advance grant. I remain grateful to the thousands of SBA employees who have stepped up to process EIDL loans and grants to help millions of small businesses. Congress made it very clear in the CARES Act that SBA is responsible for verifying the eligibility of businesses that receive EIDL loans and grants, and the agency has received more than $3 billion in administrative funding to put systems in place to protect the program from fraud. We expect SBA to carry out this program in a responsible manner so that businesses with legitimate need in the face of this pandemic can receive the help they deserve.”

###