News

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, released the Chairman’s mark, the SBA Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2019, which is the first comprehensive reauthorization of the Small Business Act in nearly two decades and will modernize and streamline programs at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). The Chairman’s mark is the product of the committee’s work to conduct oversight of the SBA, which included eight hearings examining SBA programs. A Section by Section is available here.
 
“It is in America’s national interest to invest in policies that provide modern resources to our small businesses and entrepreneurs, and, after nearly two decades, it’s long overdue for Congress to take action,” Rubio said. “The last time the Small Business Act was comprehensively reauthorized only about 40 percent of households had Internet access. As our small businesses face geopolitical threats from countries like China, we must respond. Our small businesses are America’s strategic competitive advantage. By aligning SBA’s programs with 21st century technology and solutions we can equip America’s small businesses to compete in the global economy. I look forward to working with my colleagues in a bipartisan fashion on this important piece of legislation so we can better serve America’s 30 million small businesses.”
 
The SBA Reauthorization and Improvement Act of 2019 would: 

• Replaces outdated export programs with more effective policies to promote the success of innovative, high-growth small businesses in advanced manufacturing.
•  Enhances the SBIC program’s ability to achieve its original goal of addressing market failures in providing patient capital for small business innovation in the physical economy.
• Increases federal funding for R&D available to small business at no cost to the taxpayer.
• Increases access and coordination of SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs, and streamlines and creates parity in contracting programs.
• Cuts duplicative and antiquated programs, including the authorities recommended for elimination in the President’s Budget.
• Requires agencies to take a harder look at how regulations will affect small businesses and reduce red tape that keeps businesses from starting and from growing.

 
Related:

• July 16, 2019: Rubio Reauthorization of the Small Business Act Receives Support from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council
• July 10, 2019: Rubio Reauthorization of the Small Business Act Receives Support from Leading Experts on Innovation