During COVID, SBA moved fast to deliver disaster loans, but GAO says limited access to IRS tax data made oversight harder and increased program risk
During COVID, SBA moved fast to deliver disaster loans, but GAO says limited access to IRS tax data made oversight harder and increased program risk  
Podcast: The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton
Published On: Wed Apr 01 2026
Description: When disaster loan programs scale up quickly, data sharing becomes critical. GAO says outdated systems and manual consent requirements limited SBA’s access to IRS tax data during COVID, leaving oversight gaps even as billions went out the door. Joining me to break down why that matters and where progress has been made is Director for Financial Markets and Community Investment at GAO, Courtney LaFountain.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.