Senator Ernst Introduced a Bill That Would Move 30% of SBA Employees Across the Country

December 16, 2024

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Senator Ernst Introduced a Bill That Would Move 30% of SBA Employees Across the Country

The “Returning SBA to Main Street Act” would relocate SBA employees assigned to SBA headquarters in Washington D.C. to other offices in regions around the United States. Senator Joni Ernst’s goal is to promote geographic diversity and ensure adequate staffing throughout regions of the U.S.

Not only would employees be moved, but they would also be prevented from teleworking on a full-time basis. The reason for this is to “promote in-person customer service.”

Another key point of the bill would reduce the size of SBA headquarters. At a minimum, a third of the office space at SBA headquarters goes unused. If workers are moved around the country, the amount of wasted office space will increase, so the bill would reduce the amount of office space at SBA headquarters by at least 30%. This reduction would have to be completed within two years.

“Connecting with an agency employee should not be a rare occurrence worthy of celebrating. There is no better way to fix the broken culture at the SBA than to bring them closer to the people they serve so that they perform more like a family business and less like a bloated bureaucracy,” says Senator Joni Ernst.

Sources:
“Returning SBA to Main Street Act”
Washington Examiner Article