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Collins and Rubio introduce bill to block SBA assistance for U.S. businesses backed Chinese citizens

By Howard B. Owens

Press release:

U.S. Representative Chris Collins (NY-27) and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today introduced "Denying Chinese Investors Access to U.S. Small Business Aid," a bill that would prevent businesses owned by citizens of the People’s Republic of China from accessing all assistance offered by the Small Business Administration (SBA).

“The SBA exists to help Main Street America grow and flourish, not to aid companies whose profits go to China," Collins said. "This is a common-sense reform that provides a greater check on where taxpayer dollars are going because they certainly should not be going to China.

"SBA programs should focus on helping small business owners in communities like Western New York, and I am proud to join with Senator Rubio to advance this important legislation.”

“Chinese companies are abusing our current system to exploit American small business programs, which are taxpayer subsidized and were created to help spur American ingenuity and boost small businesses,” Rubio said. “This bill will ensure that our tax dollars aren’t going overseas to China, our biggest economic competitor.”

Current law permits SBA to provide assistance to qualifying small businesses who legally operate in the United States, allowing Chinese-owned businesses to obtain a federally guaranteed loan, surety bond, research and development grant, or disaster loan, among other SBA programs.

The Denying Chinese Investors Access to U.S. Small Business Aid would prohibit SBA benefits from being awarded to businesses headquartered in China. Under this bill, those China-based businesses with operations in the United States or those with at least 25 percent of their voting stock owned by Chinese investors will no longer be able to benefit.

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