President Biden, voting booth (Fox News)
In a press release, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said the partnership "will help connect Michiganders to vital voter registration information from the State of Michigan so that more small business owners can exercise their right to vote."
The coordination between the SBA and Michigan was sparked by a 2021 executive order from Biden directing federal agencies to promote "access to voting" which raised concerns from some that the administration is using the government agency to register votes in a swing state that many believe will be one of the states the November election hinges upon.
According to the committee, both Plews and Robinson have avoided addressing those concerns voluntarily, which led to Tuesday’s subpoenas.
Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, candidate for speaker of the House, is seen outside a House Republican Conference election meeting in Longworth Building on Tuesday, October 24, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"The fact that we are having to issue subpoenas to speak with SBA officials is extremely disappointing," House Small Business Committee Chairman Roger Willams told Fox News Digital.
"The committee has given these two individuals the opportunity to speak with us voluntarily without taking these actions, but this appears to be the only way to get them to comply with our oversight responsibilities. The American people deserve answers and transparency on the electioneering activities of the SBA and how they plan on inserting themselves in the upcoming federal elections," Williams continued. "The SBA's sole mission is to help Main Street thrive and grow, and they have repeatedly strayed from that mission to pursue outside political objectives. It's unfortunate that we have arrived at this point, but this Committee is determined to get answers on behalf of the American people."
Williams’ committee is investigating the Small Business Administration’s collaboration with the Michigan Department of State on a program "to promote civic engagement and voter registration in Michigan," according to a press release announcing the partnership.
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The press release said the Michigan Department of State would "create a unique URL for the SBA to use to drive online visitors to register to vote," and that the SBA’s Michigan field office would allow state government officials to facilitate in-person voter registration at the federal agency’s business outreach events. It is part of an overall effort by the Biden administration to expand access to voter registration, launched by the 2021 executive order.
"The SBA’s MOU with the Michigan Department of State is improper, inappropriate, and perhaps, unconstitutional," Williams told Fox News Digital last month.
The efforts by the Biden administration come as his re-election campaign eyes Michigan as a must-win state in the 2024 race. Biden beat former President Trump by less than 3% there in 2020.
An investigation by the House Small Business Committee found that 22 out of 25 of such outreach events have taken place in counties with the highest population of Democratic National Committee (DNC) target demographics.
Meanwhile, 11 of 15 Michigan counties that showed the largest voter registration increase over the last year have ranked highest in population of young voters and Black voters, according to the committee – two of the left’s most-sought voting blocs.
"It is unconscionable that during such a precarious time for our nation’s small businesses, the sole federal agency created to serve as their advocate is instead utilizing their limited taxpayer resources and time to advance partisan political campaigns," Congressman Dan Meuser, Chairman of the Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access, told Fox News Digital.
Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa., arrives to the U.S. Capitol for the last votes of the week on Friday, November 3, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
The Biden executive order in 2021 instructing federal agencies to register voters to combat racism has drawn criticism from states across the country, including recently in Mississippi.
In March, the state's Republican Secretary of State Michael Watson sent a letter to Biden's Department of Justice demanding they stop efforts to register voters in federal prisons due to concerns that illegal immigrants and ineligible felons are being registered.
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"This serves as another example of the Biden administration’s unconstitutional efforts to weaponize every federal agency into voter registration and GOTV arms of the Democratic Party," Watson told Fox News Digital earlier this year.
"Federal agencies should not act as campaign arms for their Administrations, period. Americans have a right to know the extent of the SBA’s involvement, and based on further investigation, it appears even more concerning," Williams told Fox News Digital in April.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report
Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.
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