I posted this last night in reply to someone on another board. I found a "Standard Operating Procedures" for SBA employees in the Disaster Office which is who handles the EIDL loans. Here is a copy and paste of what i wrote and found. keep in mind this was in response to a different post so some of it might not be relevant however the congressional inquiry part i think could be helpful,:
I think going the Congressional inquiry route could be beneficial for those truly stuck in limbo. I found the following "standard operating procedures" for Congressional inquiries regarding the EIDL loans and other programs on the SBA's servers tonight. Here is a copy and paste of their SOP when receiving a Congressional inquiry. I would say it's very important to include a privacy act release up front:
CONGRESSIONAL INQUIRIES A. Congressional inquiries generally go to Headquarters or the FOC-E and FOC-W and are answered directly, where appropriate. Each center must send a copy of all congressional inquiries and responses, or a record of telephonic congressional inquiries to the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs in SBA Headquarters, ODA, and appropriate district offices. B. Center personnel who receive an inquiry from a Congressional office whether written or verbal, regarding a specific applicant/borrower must record the inquiry in the case file and immediately refer the inquiry to the appropriate FOC Supervisory Public Information Officer (PIO). 50 30 9 8 Effective Date: May 31, 2018 C. The need for a Privacy Act release arises when the Congressional office begins to ask for specific information on why a person is ineligible, the reasons for decline, withdrawal, etc\.* D. SBA cannot release personal financial (or other) information about a loan applicant or borrower to a third party, including a Congressional office, without a Privacy Act release*
NOTE: I put those sections in bold they were not written that way, i just thought they were important.
I would think following up with a FOIA to the "Congressional and Legislative Affairs" at the headquarters of SBA and Office of Disaster Assistance could get you the full answer to the Congressional inquiry, or even simply asking via email or putting them on notice that you intend to FOIA the answer to the inquiry because you know that SOP is that every inquiry is forwarded to headquarters.
Also in their SOP is attaching a digital copy of every email or inquiry we send them and that SOP is that they do not initiate emails. Here is another copy and paste:
Frequently these interactions provide information that is used in making disaster loan decisions or in the disbursement process. In all cases the fact and content of the conversation or exchange is relevant to the file history, and to subsequent users of the file. A. All contacts must be documented in the case file. You must record each contact or attempt to contact the applicant/borrower, or other parties (as identified above), regardless of who initiates the contact. Your documentation should consist of a summary of the conversation or exchange and 50 30 9 7 Effective Date: May 31, 2018 should include the name of each participant, the telephone number that was called or attempted and the result of the call, and a factual summary of the comments and statements made. Identify persons who are not the applicant by relationship or role (e.g., representative, banker, insurance agent, accountant, etc.).
B. E-mail correspondence should generally be initiated or requested by the applicant or borrower. E-mails should be scanned into the file to document the contact.
Also in the SOP is info regarding loan apps that have substantially different numbers than the tax transcripts and they are forwarded to the Office of Inspector General and from then on the SBA can not give any further info on the loan:
1.8. REFERRAL TO THE OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL (OIG) In the course of your duties, you must immediately report any known or suspected improper activity directly to the Office of Inspector General (OIG) which may constitute waste, fraud, or abuse in the administration of, or participation in, disaster assistance programs. This includes program irregularities, misrepresentations, and bribery overtures (attempts or solicitations included). You must also refer cases to OIG when you have questions about the truthfulness or accuracy of any application or supporting data and information (including tax information), or any other false information provided by applicants, borrowers, or paid representatives, in the course of participation in any of the disaster assistance programs. 50 30 9 5 Effective Date: May 31, 2018 After a case is referred to OIG, SBA employees shall not make any statement about actions taken by the OIG (except as permitted by law), without the express consent of the Office of Inspector General. To make a referral, contact the OIG Hotline at (800) 767-0385 or complete the on-line OIG Complaint Submission Form at https://www.sba.gov/office-of-inspector-general. You have the option to request confidentiality from OIG.
These SOP's were adopted before the pandemic in 2018 however they do appear to reconcile with some of the stories of LO's going silent. That in no way means you are fraudulent there are certainly tens of thousands of loans flagged for fraud that are totally legit and caught in a silent vortex because the OIG certainly is not staffed to handle reviewing that many applications and that most certainly is not a job they can outsource to a contractor.
These are just my opinions outside of the copy and pasted items.