Noncitizens restricted from taxpayer-funded SBA loans under House bill

On Friday, 190 Democrats in Congress voted to allow for noncitizens of the United States to get taxpayer-funded Small Business Administration (SBA) loans. The bill the Democrats voted against, which passed 217 to 190, required that one must prove they are a citizen of the US in order to receive SBA loans.

In addition to requiring proof of citizenship for the loan, HR 2966 outlines that those seeking asylum, refugees, illegal immigrants, and other classifications of noncitizens are ineligible to receive SBA loans.

The bill, if signed into law by the president, would require that those applying for an SBA loan be "a citizen of the United States, a national of the United States, or a lawful permanent resident of the United States."

Eight Democrats joined in voting with the House Republicans in passing the bill through the chamber. Sponsor of the bill, Rep. Beth Van Duyen (R-TX) said on the House floor, “We cannot allow those kinds of folks that are in our country illegally to take money away from hardworking Americans who are applying for SBA taxpayer-backed loans."

The eight Democrats who voted in favor of the bill included Reps. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Donald Davis (D-NC), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Josh Harder (D-CA), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), and Thomas Suozzi (D-NY).

According to Politico, Rep. LaMonic McIver (D-NJ), who was recently charged by the Department of Justice for "assaulting, impeding and interfering with law enforcement" while she and other Democratic House members said they were conduting "oversight" on an ICE facility in Newark, said of the bill, “Let’s be honest about what this bill really does: It uses small business policy as a vehicle for immigration politics." She then claimed the bill was "harmful" as well as "misguided."

The vote comes after the House passed a bill on Thursday that will move SBA offices out of sanctuary jurisdictions across the US.