Please sign the below form to add your name to the following letter. By signing, you are consenting to use of your name and title, as presented here, in submission of this letter to the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee. For any questions, please contact Alex Goldman, agoldman@bendthearc.us, or Shir Attias, shir@jewishdems.org. Sign-ons must be submitted by 12PM ET on Monday August 2, 2021.
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The Honorable Rand Paul, Ranking Member  
U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
428A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Minority Members, Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
428A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

CC: The Honorable Benjamin Cardin, Chair                                
U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship  
428A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515    

Date, XX, 2021

Re: National Multi-Coalition Movement of Organizations & Leaders Demands SBC Republicans End Boycotts and Show Up To A Committee Vote on Nominee Dilawar Syed.

Dear Ranking Member Paul and Minority Members of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee,

We, the undersigned, a coalition of national and local multi-faith, community, and civil rights organizations and leaders representing millions of Americans across all fifty states, write today to demand that Republican Members of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee (SBC) end their boycotts of the Committee’s consideration of Dilawar Syed’s nomination to be the next Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). In the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, the role of Deputy Administrator of the SBA is vital to the success of the SBA’s critical COVID-19 relief efforts to buttress the small business community across the country during this unprecedented crisis. Continuing delay in considering Mr. Syed will affect countless small businesses and livelihoods.

While we do not take positions on endorsements as a coalition, Mr. Syed’s experience as an entrepreneur, business executive, and civic leader clearly qualifies him to be considered for the position. We also note the historic nature of his nomination. If Mr. Syed is confirmed, he will be the highest-ranking Muslim American in the executive branch of the Biden administration.

Unfortunately, the delay of this confirmation has contributed to denying American small businesses – including tens of thousands of minority-owned businesses devastated by the pandemic – a full complement of qualified leaders at a key moment in the country’s recovery from COVID-19. As Mr. Syed testified during his confirmation hearing in your committee, “small businesses have been impacted to a far greater degree [during the COVID-19 crisis]....entrepreneurs in Black and Brown communities, rural and underserved regions need our commitment and support more than ever.” The longer the Senate delays its consideration of this nomination, the more severely hard-working Americans will suffer, at a time when they need our help most.
 
Shortly after Mr. Syed’s nomination was reported out of committee favorably on June 16th – with Republican support – an internal strategy email (circulated by a Republican Senator’s staffer) led with and noted Mr. Syed’s birth in a Muslim-majority country and his engagement with a Muslim American civic organization. In this correspondence, Mr. Syed’s heritage and faith were explicitly highlighted to imply allegations that are patently false and irrelevant.
 
This first-ever boycott in the history of the committee–representing a blatant attack on Mr. Syed’s background and faith–is deeply troubling and offensive. As organizations and leaders representing diverse backgrounds and movements, we are compelled to speak out and demand action when injustice is perpetrated. We demand that you execute your constitutional responsibilities as United States Senators and attend an SBC meeting convened to vote on the nomination of Dilawar Syed as Deputy Administrator of the Small Business Administration.
 
Sincerely,

Originating Co-signers:
The Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights
Center for American Progress
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Jewish Democratic Council of America
AAPI Victory Fund
Emgage Foundation Inc

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