To provide for a memorandum of understanding between the Small Business Administration and the National Council on Disability to increase employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The ThinkDIFFERENTLY About Disability Employment Act directs the Small Business Administration Administrator, in consultation with the Chair of the National Council on Disability, to help individuals with disabilities become entrepreneurs or self-employed, help individuals with disabilities find employment at small business concerns, and assist small businesses with hiring individuals with disabilities and addressing accessibility issues. SBA and the National Council on Disability must carry out and coordinate those activities through one or more memoranda of understanding or similar agreements. They must also conduct outreach and education about the activities. Within two years, SBA, again in consultation with the Council chair, must report to Congress on how the activities were carried out, opportunities to expand SBA technical capabilities, achievements under the memoranda or agreements, and plans to continue expanding employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. The bill authorizes no additional funds.
Who Benefits and How
Individuals with disabilities, entrepreneurs with disabilities, disabled job seekers, self-employed workers with disabilities, small business owners, disability-rights organizations, National Council on Disability staff, SBA district offices, and small business development partners benefit from a formal SBA-NCD coordination channel. The MOU can make entrepreneurship assistance, job-placement help, accessibility guidance, and outreach more consistent across small-business programs.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Small Business Administration, National Council on Disability, SBA program managers, SBA district office staff, accessibility assistance staff, outreach teams, congressional report writers, and small business advisors must negotiate agreements, coordinate services, conduct education, track achievements, analyze technical-capability gaps, and report to Congress without new appropriations.
Key Provisions
- Requires SBA to assist people with disabilities who want to become entrepreneurs or self-employed.
- Requires SBA and NCD coordination to help individuals with disabilities find jobs at small businesses.
- Requires assistance to small businesses on disability hiring and accessibility issues.
- Requires one or more MOUs or similar agreements between SBA and NCD.
- Requires outreach, education, and a two-year congressional report on implementation, achievements, technical gaps, and future plans.
- Provides no additional authorization of funds.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Requires the SBA Administrator and National Council on Disability Chair to coordinate by MOU or similar agreements on entrepreneurship, self-employment, small-business job placement, disability hiring, accessibility assistance, outreach, education, and a two-year congressional report, using no additional funds.
Key Policy Areas
Small Business, Disability Rights, Employment
Primary Purpose
Requires the SBA Administrator and National Council on Disability Chair to coordinate by MOU or similar agreements on entrepreneurship, self-employment, small-business job placement, disability hiring, accessibility assistance, outreach, education, and a two-year congressional report, using no additional funds.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Individuals with disabilities
- Entrepreneurs with disabilities
- Disabled job seekers
- Self-employed workers with disabilities
- Small business owners
- Disability-rights organizations
- SBA district offices
Identified Costs
- Small Business Administration
- National Council on Disability
- SBA program managers
- SBA district office staff
- Accessibility assistance staff
- Outreach teams
- Congressional report writers
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to theCommittee on Small Business …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsor: Ms. Goodlander
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the …
Mr. Stauber (for himself, Ms. Simon, Mr. Alford, and Mr. …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
National Council on Disability, SBA district office staff, Small Business Administration
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology