Sponsors (4)
The bill broadens access to federally supported entrepreneurial training and standardizes program rules to help unemployed Americans start businesses, but increases expected public costs, imposes state administrative burdens, risks variable program quality across states, and delays benefits for two years.
Unemployed workers can access State Entrepreneurial Assistance (SEA) programs without having to show they're likely to exhaust regular unemployment, expanding eligibility for entrepreneurial support.
Unemployed workers gain clearer, state‑approved entrepreneurial training, counseling, technical assistance, and state‑approved business‑plan pathways to help start or grow businesses.
State and local governments receive federal guidance and model activity lists plus a transparent notice‑and‑comment/OMB review regulatory process to help standardize SEA program quality and verification practices.
Taxpayers and state governments may face higher costs because removing the 'likely to exhaust' test could increase participation in unemployment-related entrepreneurial programs.
State and local governments will need to revise laws, create approval processes, and verify activities, creating administrative burdens and implementation costs.
Unemployed workers and prospective small-business owners could face uneven program quality or potential misuse across states because approved activities and verification standards may vary.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Allows States to qualify SEA participants based on approved entrepreneurial training or an approved business plan instead of an "likely to exhaust" unemployment test.
Official title: Amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify the rules governing the State administration of self-employment assistance programs.
Introduced July 16, 2026 by Christopher A. Coons · Last progress July 16, 2026
Amends the federal rule that defines State-run self-employment assistance (SEA) programs to broaden who can participate. Instead of requiring participants to be likely to exhaust regular unemployment benefits, States can qualify participants based on completing State-approved entrepreneurial training, business counseling and technical assistance, or by following an approved individual business plan and market feasibility study. The change takes effect two years after enactment (States may implement earlier). The Secretary of Labor must issue regulations after notice-and-comment and OMB review and must give State workforce agencies a model list of qualifying SEA activities and best practices for confirming completion.