BURLINGTON, VT – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, today released the following statement responding to reports that the Trump Administration is considering an executive order to transfer certain U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development (RD) Programs to the Small Business Administration (SBA). This proposal would allow SBA to control USDA RD’s Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program, Rural Business Investment Program, and the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program. 

“The Trump Administration’s proposal to move crucial USDA RD programs to the SBA is alarming for rural communities in red and blue states alike. This move won’t ‘improve efficiency’ it will just make it harder for farmers and rural small businesses to access the specialized support farmers and rural small businesses depend on. The Administration’s willful ignorance of fundamental differences between the two agencies will rob rural communities of vital resources provided by USDA’s vast local knowledge and rural presence. I urge the Trump Administration to drop this proposal.”  

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