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Lawmakers seek explanation for closure of city office

by Ryan Feyre | Oct 7, 2025 | Hampden County, Local News, More Local Headlines, Springfield

SPRINGFIELD — Four months after criticizing the closure of the Springfield Small Business Administration office, the same four Massachusetts lawmakers are now seeking answers relating to that decision.

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey of once again joined forces with U.S. Reps. Richard Neal and Jim McGovern to send a letter to SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler on Sept. 26 that requests an explanation for the June 1 closure of the 1 Federal St. office.

“On June 1, 2025, the SBA and the Department of Government Efficiency closed the Springfield, Massachusetts district office, leaving entrepreneurs in Western Massachusetts hours away from in-person SBA assistance,” the letter says. “This politically motivated closure has cut off Western Massachusetts small business owners and entrepreneurs from once accessible SBA officials, services and programs.”

The letter is the second one the lawmakers have sent to Loeffler. They also sent one on May 28 that criticized the decision to close the Springfield office, saying the 894-square-foot office building is a critical and convenient resource for burgeoning entrepreneurs in Western Mass.

In that initial letter, the lawmakers posed 10 questions to Loeffler, including what formal justification DOGE or SBA provided for the closure of the Springfield office, and if there are any plans to relocate the Western Mass. office.

Loeffler, however, did not answer the questions and instead sent a brief statement: “After internal deliberations, the agency has elected to relocate the district office to a new location.”

Despite Loeffler’s claim, the lawmakers’ second letter says that there is no sign of a new SBA location.

“We appreciate your reconsideration of SBA’s abandonment of Western Massachusetts small businesses,” the lawmakers said. “However, more than three months later, the SBA has failed to announce a new office location, and small businesses remain without access to SBA services and support. SBA must prioritize the reopening of a district office in Western Massachusetts.”

The letter later states that when lawmakers’ staff engaged with SBA officials to determine a timeline for an SBA office reopening, the SBA officials said that they are “evaluating whether the new location will be accessible to small business owners and whether it will be cost efficient for taxpayers.”

“However, when pressed for basic details on the status of the new location, your staff failed to respond,” the letter says.

The lawmakers are seeking answers to questions regarding the possibility of reopening an SBA office in Western Mass., including what a selection process would look like.

The letter also asks that Loeffler provides information about how small business owners in Western Mass. can still retain access to in-person services in the event that an SBA office does not return to the region. Lawmakers are giving Loeffler until Oct. 10 to answer these questions and others.

The June closure of the SBA Springfield office was part of DOGE’s decision to terminate 10 commercial leases in Massachusetts that house federal offices, thereby continuing President Donald Trump’s effort to slash the size of the federal government.

When the closure occurred, the four delegates argued that small business owners would face the “tremendous burden” of having to drive to Boston for the nearest office.

They shared in the second letter that Trump’s decision to extend his hiring freeze to Oct. 15 has “compounded” the physical absence of the Springfield SBA office.

“The senseless political games President Trump and his administration are playing by picking and choosing which small businesses have access to SBA’s resources must come to an end,” the letter said. “Small businesses are the heart of our economy and deserve your full attention and resources that meet them where they are.”

rfeyre@thereminder.com |  + posts