Shutdown halts billions in small business loans, government contracts, SBA administrator says

Smaller companies across America have lost access to capital because of the government shutdown and those with federal contracts have received “stop work” orders, the head of the Small Business Administration said Monday. 

SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, speaking at a press conference alongside House GOP leaders, said the shutdown has stopped her agency from issuing roughly 6,000 small business loans, totaling around $4 billion, that could be flowing into the economy to help companies hire and expand their businesses.

She blamed Senate Democrats for blocking a bill to reopen the government and described the impact that it’s having on their constituents who rely on small-business loans. 

“In Chuck Schumer’s own state, that is $40 million every single week,” Ms. Loeffler said, referring to the Senate Democratic leader from New York. “In my home state of Georgia, Sen. [Jon] Ossoff and Sen. [Raphael] Warnock [are] shutting down $35 million in Main Street capital every single week.” 

Ms. Loeffler served in the Senate for a year, appointed to replace fellow Georgia Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson after he resigned for health reasons. She lost her bid to serve a full term to Mr. Warnock.

Prior to the shutdown on Oct. 1, small business optimism was at a seven-year high, wage growth was outpacing inflation for the first time in four years and GDP growth was at 3.8%, Ms. Loeffler said. 

That gave small businesses confidence to take on new loans to hire, expand and invest, and the SBA saw requests for capital exceed $100 billion for the first time in the agency’s 72-year history, she said. The SBA issued a record $45 billion in loans to 85,000 small businesses in fiscal 2025.

“Senate Democrats have intentionally put that momentum at risk,” Ms. Loeffler said. “The SBA loan guarantee programs have been halted, and Main Street’s capital has been choked off because Senate Democrats are playing politics with lives and livelihoods.”

The SBA administrator cited an estimate from the White House Council of Economic Advisers that every week of the shutdown shrinks the economy by $15 billion. 

The shutdown has not only cut off capital to small businesses with loan programs shuttered, but it’s harmed companies that rely on federal contracts. 

“Thousands of them across the country have received ‘stop work’ orders,” Ms. Loeffler said. “Thousands more who rely on federal workers as their customers are seeing their revenue dry up; here in Washington, of course, but around our military communities, around Main Streets across America. 

“It’s our storefronts that are cutting back hours, manufacturers that are shelving expansion plans and generational businesses that are closing their doors for good,” she said. “It’s business they will never get back.”