Mary Fallin: “Thank you. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, it is my goal to address the issue of certain franchisees, who by all…”

“Thank you. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, it is my goal to address the issue of certain franchisees, who by all intents and purposes are small businesses, not being allowed to receive 7(a) loans due to their affiliation with larger franchisors. I believe the Small Business Lending Improvements Act should eventually contain language to modify the SBA's affiliation standard to allow that a business, if it is affiliated with another business and therefore determined to be something other than small, to still be eligible for a loan if it has no financial recourse to its affiliates for repayment of any of its debt. These businesses operate financially independent of their franchisor and therefore operate like all other small businesses, and I believe they should be offered the same opportunity to receive the 7(a) loans as any other small business. I ask that the gentlelady work with me to address this issue in the underlying legislation.”