Reading Room Document

SBA loans to mushroom growers and processors.

The document is a memorandum discussing the legality of the President advising the Small Business Administration (SBA) on granting loans to mushroom growers and processors to assist in their recovery from botulism toxicity. The conclusion reached is that it is lawful for the President to advise the SBA on this matter, and the legal authority for the loans is found in 15 U.S.C. 636(b)(4). The document presents questions about the interpretation of "natural or undetermined causes" as the basis for the loans, and whether the same justification applies to the current situation as it did to previous loans granted to the fish industry. It also raises concerns about negligence and the need for administrative findings to support the proposed loans.

November 11, 1974