WH Briefing Reaction: Trump, McConnell and Fixing SBA Loan Accessibility

Immediately following President Trump’s positive response to a reporter’s query in tonight’s White House press briefing about a Washington man who could not access a Small Business Administration loan due to a criminal record, Justice Action Network’s Executive Director Holly Harris released the following letter to Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, signed by prominent national and Kentucky-based groups, urging the Leader to back a bipartisan initiative, for which the President has indicated support, to remedy the SBA’s controversial policy excluding Americans with a criminal record from accessing small business loans:

“At a time when one in three American adults has some kind of a criminal record and over 22 million Americans – and counting – are out of work, the Small Business Administration must remove any bureaucratic barrier to economic growth and job creation, and strike this outdated, exclusionary measure. We are grateful that the President has pledged before a national audience to look into the case of an excluded business owner, which is representative of challenges hundreds of thousands of American business owners are experiencing. During this crisis, we must support our small business owners, including those who have turned away from crime to support their families, create jobs, and contribute to their communities.”

Ms. Harris, a Kentucky native and resident, continued: “Republicans and Democrats at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue support this fix to SBA policy. We hope that Leader McConnell will follow suit and take this commonsense and essential step , especially during an economic crisis.”