[INSERT TRIBAL LETTERHEAD] April 3, 2020
The Honorable Jovita Carranza Administrator U.S. Small Business Administration 409 3rd Street, SW Washington, D.C. 20416 The Honorable Steven Mnuchin Secretary of the Treasury
U.S. Department of the Treasury 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20220 Re: Clarifying Eligibility of Tribal Government-owned and Operated Indian Gaming Enterprises in the Paycheck Protection Program Dear Administrator Carranza and Secretary Mnuchin: I write on behalf of the __________(Tribe/Nation) to express concern with the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) interim final rule on Business Loan Program Temporary Changes; Paycheck Protection Program” (PPP), referenced as Docket No. SBA-2020-0015. The interim rule would preclude Tribal Government-owned gaming businesses and their employees from receiving economic support under the newly- established Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The rule directly conflicts with both the text and overarching goals of the CARES Act. Congress created the PPP to help small businesses preserve jobs for their employees by providing loans for payroll and other purposes while they are shut down as a result of the pandemic. The PPP provision in the CARES Act expressly includes “any… tribal business concerns” as defined in the HUBZone program (Sec. 31 of the Small Business Act) that are under 500 employees as being eligible for PPP loans. The provision that includes “tribal business concern” is titled “Increased Eligibility for Certain Small Businesses and Organizations” – a direct reference that Congress clearly intended to override the SBA’s existing regulation during the covered period – and include any tribal business that is under 500 employees without regard to the industry of the tribal business. However, SBA’s interim final rule ignores the expressed intent of Congress referencing existing regulation 13 C.F.R. Part 120.110, which deems Tribal Government-owned businesses and Indian gaming operations ineligible for standard SBA loans. If the interim final rule is not clarified to align with Congress’ intent, it will inflict significant negative impacts to tribal government economies, those of our neighboring communities, and unnecessarily increase unemployment in many already economically distressed areas.
Without a tax base to generate governmental revenue, Indian tribal governments must rely on our tribal government-owned enterprises to generate revenue to fund essential government services to Native communities across Indian Country in the form of health care,
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