Sponsors (4)
The bill aims to improve veterans' access to SBA programs and produce evidence to address credit barriers, but it contains no new funding and adds reporting burdens that may limit its real-world effectiveness.
Veteran-, reservist-, and spouse-owned small businesses will receive a GAO study identifying available credit sources, gaps, and barriers (including how deployment and service duties affect credit histories), giving Congress and agencies evidence to design targeted policies or outreach to improve loan access.
Veterans and veteran-owned small businesses will get clearer, better-coordinated outreach to SBA veteran-focused programs (VBOCs, Boots to Business, VIP, etc.), improving awareness and potential uptake of training, procurement, and other supports.
Taxpayers and the public will gain greater transparency into SBA veteran-task-force activities because the SBA must include task force appointments and activities in its annual budget justification.
Program beneficiaries (veterans and small businesses) may see limited or no practical benefit because the Act does not authorize new appropriations, so identified outreach needs or recommended changes may not be funded or implemented.
Additional reporting requirements and the GAO study will consume federal staff time and agency resources, which could divert SBA personnel from direct services to veterans and small businesses.
Findings from the GAO analysis could prompt regulatory or program changes that impose extra compliance costs on lenders or program administrators, potentially increasing costs for financial institutions and small businesses seeking credit.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Requires SBA to report on a veterans task force and outreach plan in its budget justification, orders a GAO study on credit access for veteran-owned small businesses, and authorizes no new funding.
Requires the Small Business Administration to include, as part of its annual budget justification, a report describing a veterans interagency task force and a plan to promote veteran-focused SBA programs. Orders the Government Accountability Office to study within one year how veterans, service-disabled veterans, Reservists, and their spouses access credit for small businesses, including sources, default rates, gaps, and effects of military service on credit. The law does not authorize any new funding to carry out these requirements.
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Sharice Davids · Last progress February 25, 2025