Scroll down or click here to sign this letter on behalf of your organization.

Dear Majority Leader Thune, Speaker Johnson, Minority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader Jeffries:     

On behalf of Small Business Majority and the undersigned state and national organizations serving America’s 36 million small businesses, we write in strong support of S.J.Res 202/H.J.Res 207, which would roll back the latest version of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) harmful citizenship restrictions on the 7(a) and 504 loan programs eligibility for small businesses that are owned, or partly owned, by green card holders who are creating jobs and contributing to the American economy. 

On March 1, the SBA implemented detrimental changes to its lending guidelines that restrict access to entrepreneurship and make it significantly harder to achieve the American Dream. The new loan eligibility criteria specifies that all direct and indirect owners of a small business must be U.S. citizens or nationals with principal residence in the United States to be eligible for the 7(a) and 504 programs. Since April 1, these restrictions also apply to the agency’s Microloan and Surety Bond programs. Prior to SBA’s now year-long effort to limit access to government-guaranteed loan programs for legal immigrant entrepreneurs, the agency had followed decades of precedent that allowed businesses that are at least 51% owned and controlled by U.S. citizens, nationals or green card holders to qualify for SBA-backed loans. These restrictions will have grave consequences for the small business community and the broader economy: in FY25 alone, green card holders received an estimated 5,700 loans through the 7(a) and 504 programs, totaling $5.7 billion and supporting more than 80,000 jobs.¹

The nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently concluded that SBA's 2026 policy and procedural notices restricting green card holder loan eligibility meet the Administrative Procedures Act’s definition of a 'rule,' meaning they’re subject to the Congressional Review Act's submission requirements. Following the GAO’s decision, Small Business Committee Ranking Members Sen. Ed Markey (MA) and Rep. Nydia Velázquez (NY) have introduced a Joint Resolution of Disapproval to overturn the SBA’s harmful restrictions and rightfully restore access to the SBA’s flagship loan programs for small businesses owned in part by green card holders. The green card holder restriction goes far beyond the intent of Congress in its prior endeavors to refine eligibility requirements for the program. To that end, Small Business Majority and the undersigned organizations, which include small business lenders, business support organizations and small business advocates from across the country, urge Congress to swiftly adopt S.J.Res 202/H.J.Res 207. Congress must reaffirm its commitment to serving those who are rightfully and legally entitled to accessing key government guaranteed loan programs in pursuit of the American Dream. 

Restoring access to responsible, government-guaranteed loans for such a critical segment of our economy will allow thousands of small businesses to access the capital they require to grow and invest in American communities. If Congress does not act to protect access to the very ideals that our country was founded upon by rewarding those who adhere strictly to legal immigration pathways, local economies, communities and Main Street will pay the price. 

We urge Congress to pass S.J.Res 202/H.J.Res 207 now -- the entrepreneurial spirit of our nation depends on it.