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Staffers with the Small Business Administration who were placed on furlough set up automatic response emails pinning blame on Democrats for the shutdown, which they said already has affected hundreds of businesses from accessing millions in funding.
“I am out of office for the foreseeable future because Senate Democrats voted to block a clean federal funding bill (H.R. 5371), leading to a government shutdown that is preventing the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from serving America’s 36 million small businesses,” an automatic response from a furloughed SBA employee received by Fox News Digtal reads.
“Every day that Senate Democrats continue (to) oppose a clean funding bill, they are stopping an estimated 320 small businesses from accessing $170 million in SBA-guaranteed funding,” the email continued.
The Small Business Administration is charged with providing U.S. entrepreneurs with business counseling and capital resources as part of its mission to strengthen the economy by protecting the growth of small businesses.
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The government partially shut down early Wednesday morning after Senate lawmakers failed to reach a spending agreement in time for the end of fiscal year 2025. A short-term extension of fiscal year 2025 funding, aimed at keeping the government open through Nov. 21, passed the House earlier in September.
Republicans have since blamed Democrats for the shutdown, arguing they refused to fund the budget as an attempt to provide taxpayer-funded medical benefits for illegal immigrants through Democrat lawmakers’ continuing resolution. Democrats, however, have cast the Republicans’ claim as a “lie” from the Trump administration.
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The automatic response email from an SBA staffer continued that employees will quickly resume their duties once the shutdown ends, but that many services will remain unavailable until that time.
“As a result of the shutdown, we wanted to notify you that many of our services supporting small businesses are currently unavailable. The Agency is executing its Lapse Plan and as soon as the shutdown is over, we are prepared to immediately return to the record-breaking services we are providing under the leadership of the Trump Administration,” the email continued.
Fox News Digital obtained an internal email from SBA’s human resources arm sent to SBA employees Wednesday evening — when the shutdown was imminent — that provided staffers with the suggested automatic response email text. The message also included a step-by-step guide on how to set up automatic out-of-office email responses.
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Staffers were only advised to use the suggested email language, not required, Fox News Digital learned.
The SBA, led by former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, also displays a bright red “Special Announcement” message on its website, warning: “Senate Democrats voted to block a clean federal funding bill (H.R. 5371), leading to a government shutdown that is preventing the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) from serving America’s 36 million small businesses.”
“Every day that Senate Democrats continue to oppose a clean funding bill, they are stopping an estimated 320 small businesses from accessing $170 million in SBA-guaranteed funding,” it added, similar to the auto response emails.
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