REGULATORY RUNDOWN | May 12-26

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The Regulatory Rundown: May 12-26

SBA overhauls Community Advantage SBLC program. On May 19, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced an overhaul of the Community Advantage Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) program, a Biden-era program that sought to grant 7(a) loans to underserved communities through mission-based lenders.

As part of the announcement, SBA noted it had issued a moratorium on the expansion of the program and, through a new standard operating procedure, “will require existing lenders to meet prudent financial stability standards as a condition of further participation.”

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SBA launches “Make Onshoring Great Again” portal. On May 20, SBA announced the launch of its Make Onshoring Great Again Portal, “a free tool designed to help small businesses identify U.S. manufacturers and producers.” Through the database, which contains over one million U.S. suppliers, SBA is seeking to “empower job creators to source domestic supplier to support their operations.”

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DOL, HHS, Treasury release RFI on drug price transparency, guidance for health plans. On May 22, the departments of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Treasury jointly issued a Request for Information (RFI) seeking public input on improving prescription drug price transparency and released updated guidance for health plans and issuers “that sets a clear applicability date for publishing an enhanced technical format for disclosures.”

The updated guidance is “designed to eliminate meaningless or duplicative data and make cost information easier for consumers to understand and use.” More information on the RFI and the guidance is available here.

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HHS, FDA launch RFI on deregulatory plan. On May 13, HHS and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its launch of a public RFI “to identify and eliminate outdated or unnecessary regulations.” The RFI was issued in alignment with President Trump’s executive order entitled “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation,” under which HHS has committed itself to a “10-to-1” deregulatory policy (i.e., for every new regulation proposed, at least 10 existing regulatory actions will be rescinded).

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NLRB Acting Gen. Counsel reaffirms commitment to effective, efficient case resolution. On May 20, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel William Cowen issued a memo reaffirming the agency’s “commitment to effective and efficient case resolutions while providing updated guidance to the Regions on approaching settlement agreements in unfair labor practice cases.”

The memo not only provides specific guidance on drafting settlements, but also provides “parameters for Regions’ use of discretion in approving unilateral settlements and pursuing make whole relief.”

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