OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

504 Program Risk Oversight Act

Floor Speech

Date: Jan. 20, 2026
Location: Washington, DC

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the bill before us today, H.R. 5788, the 504 Program Risk Oversight Act.

Madam Speaker, transparency is key to ensuring the proper operation and functioning of the SBA lending programs, including the 504/CDC program. This bill will give the Committee on Small Business the necessary information to carry out our oversight authority.

Federal law requires the SBA Office of Credit Risk Management to conduct an annual portfolio risk analysis of the SBA flagship 7(a) loan program and provide Congress with a detailed report of their results. This report has been crucial in Committee on Small Business Democrats' investigation into the rising default levels in the 7(a) program and has helped us to respond accordingly.

Unfortunately, no statutory reporting requirement exists for the 504/ CDC loan program. H.R. 5788 will fix that by adding a requirement that the SBA conduct an annual risk analysis of the 504/CDC program and provide Congress with their results. Tailored to the 504/CDC program's unique features, the report will provide Congress with many of the same data points it currently provides on the 7(a) program, but the bill also requires several new data points to improve our stewardship of the program.

While loan defaults aren't currently a concern for the 504 program, this bill will provide Congress with valuable information needed to monitor the program's operation, guard against future risk, and ensure that the program's zero-subsidy requirement is maintained.

Madam Speaker, I applaud Representatives Tran and Patronis for their work on this bill, which is supported by the National Association of Development Companies. I ask my colleagues to support it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Tran), the lead sponsor of the bill.

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Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, I again applaud Representatives Tran and Patronis for their bipartisan work on this bill. I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

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