Sponsors (2)
The bill lowers upfront borrowing barriers and increases transparency for veteran-owned small businesses, but those benefits carry fiscal risk for taxpayers, potential lender-side offsets, and may not produce immediate relief without further funding or policy changes.
Veteran- and spouse-owned small businesses will face lower upfront costs and reduced borrower equity requirements for many SBA loans (including waived guarantee and up-front fees for loans ≤ $1,000,000), making it easier for startups and existing veteran firms to access capital.
Taxpayers, policymakers, and the public will get better SBA transparency and congressional attention through published participation data and required findings, improving accountability and the ability to evaluate program effectiveness and resource allocation.
Veterans, military families, spouses, and women entrepreneurs could receive more targeted outreach or tailored support if the bill’s findings and the published participation data prompt focused programs or oversight.
Taxpayers could face higher costs if fee waivers and lower borrower equity increase loan losses or if congressional findings lead to new federally funded programs to address identified gaps.
The bill’s findings and reporting requirements do not create new programs or funding, so veterans may not see immediate, tangible relief absent follow-on legislation or appropriations.
Waiving fees and allowing lower borrower equity may increase credit risk or moral hazard; lenders could respond by raising other fees or imposing stricter covenants, which could offset borrower savings and raise costs for small businesses.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Waives certain SBA/SBIC guarantee fees and reduces equity injection requirements for veteran- or spouse-owned small-business loans ≤ $1,000,000 and requires SBA reporting on veteran participation.
Introduced November 10, 2025 by Edward John Markey · Last progress November 10, 2025
Creates targeted small-business lending relief and reporting requirements for veteran-owned small businesses and spouses. The bill waives certain SBA and SBIC guarantee fees on loans of $1,000,000 or less to qualifying veteran- or spouse-owned firms, lowers required borrower equity injections for many veteran loans, sets minimum equity rules for SBIC‑financed projects, and requires the SBA to collect and publish participation data for covered veterans in specified lending and entrepreneurial development programs.