# H.R. 7401 (119th): Small Business Lending Fraud Prevention Act

Small Business Lending Fraud Prevention Act This bill requires Small Business Administration (SBA) employees who participate in the origination, review, or approval of SBA loans to certify in writing prior to such participation that the employee does not have any conflict of interest with respect to the loan, will disclose any such conflict of interest arising after the certification is made, and understands the requirements with respect to conflicts of interest applicable SBA employees. Under current law, federal employees must disclose financial conflicts of interest with respect to a particular matter and recuse themselves from such matter (with limited exceptions upon authorization from the employee's agency designee). The SBA must issue regulations implementing the requirements of this bill.

## How this bill is scored

Tier: no Tier 1 record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Lane: anti_corruption. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: conflict_of_interest. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: economic_fairness. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: fraud_prevention. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: government_ethics. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: justice. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Lane: small_business. Category: not stored. Lane tag: not stored.
Tier 1 sign-off: no record. A bill with no record cannot newly become Tier 1.
Stored polarity: good. A yea supports the bill. A nay is the penalized direction when the tag is scored as a protection. A yea on a credit tag is a credit.
Roll 225: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass. Vote type: final_passage.
Polarity rationale: Reviewed enrichment (llm_import) polarity: The bill directly restrains official self-dealing and conflicts of interest in federal lending, which is a form of defending justice in public administration. It adds certification and disclosure duties rather than advancing any named harm. The title and summary give enough to support a prudent high-level judgment, though the measure is administrative in character.
Theological note: Scripture condemns partiality, bribery, and self-serving handling of public trust, and it calls rulers and officials to justice and honest weights. A measure that requires officials handling public loans to affirm and disclose conflicts of interest bears on the civil duty to restrain self-dealing and protect the public from fraud. The concern is modest and procedural, not a direct moral evil.

## Recorded votes

Roll 225: On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass. Yea 415 · Nay 0 · Other 16.

HTML: https://justmeasure.org/bill/hr-7401-119/