To require the Small Business Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Delta Regional Authority to enter into an agreement to carry out activities to expand rural entrepreneurship, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The GREATER Act requires three federal agencies - the Small Business Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Delta Regional Authority - to work together to help small businesses and entrepreneurs in rural Appalachian and Delta region communities. Within 120 days of the bill'''s passage, these agencies must sign an agreement laying out how they'''ll coordinate their programs and resources to better serve rural business owners in these economically distressed regions.
Who Benefits and How
Small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs in the Appalachian region (stretching from New York to Mississippi) and the Delta region (parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee) would benefit from streamlined access to federal resources. Instead of navigating multiple disconnected federal programs, rural business owners would have better coordinated support, potentially including easier access to loans, grants, technical assistance, and business development programs from the SBA and regional development authorities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The three federal agencies involved - the SBA, Appalachian Regional Commission, and Delta Regional Authority - will face new administrative responsibilities. They must negotiate and finalize an interagency agreement within 120 days, coordinate ongoing programs, potentially enter into cost-sharing arrangements with each other, and produce a detailed report to Congress within two years documenting their activities, the number of businesses helped, and plans for future collaboration. Taxpayers will ultimately fund any expanded programs or reimbursable agreements between the agencies, though the bill doesn'''t specify dollar amounts.
Key Provisions
- Mandates a memorandum of understanding between SBA, Appalachian Regional Commission, and Delta Regional Authority within 120 days
- Authorizes reimbursable agreements between these agencies to share costs and maximize program effectiveness
- Requires a 2-year Congressional report detailing coordination efforts, number of businesses assisted, and future collaboration plans
- Defines "covered small business concerns" as small businesses located in the Appalachian or Delta regions
- Allows agencies to collaborate with other federal agencies as needed to support rural entrepreneurs
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Establishes coordination between the Small Business Administration, Appalachian Regional Commission, and Delta Regional Authority to expand rural entrepreneurship and support small businesses in the Appalachian and Delta regions
Who Benefits
- Small businesses in Appalachian region
- Small businesses in Delta region
- Rural entrepreneurs in these regions
Who Bears Costs
- SBA (administrative coordination burden)
- Appalachian Regional Commission (administrative coordination burden)
- Delta Regional Authority (administrative coordination burden)
Key Policy Areas
Small Business, Rural Development, Regional Economic Development, Entrepreneurship
Primary Purpose
Establishes coordination between the Small Business Administration, Appalachian Regional Commission, and Delta Regional Authority to expand rural entrepreneurship and support small businesses in the Appalachian and Delta regions
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Foster interagency coordination to leverage existing regional development authorities with federal small business resources to address rural entrepreneurship gaps in economically distressed regions"
Identified Gains
- Small businesses in Appalachian region
- Small businesses in Delta region
- Rural entrepreneurs in these regions
- Regional development organizations
Identified Costs
- SBA (administrative coordination burden)
- Appalachian Regional Commission (administrative coordination burden)
- Delta Regional Authority (administrative coordination burden)
- Taxpayers (funding reimbursable agreements)
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Letlow (for herself and Mr. Deluzio) introduced the following …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Rural entrepreneurs in Appalachian and Delta regions, Small businesses in Appalachian region, Small businesses in Delta region
Appalachian Regional Commission, Delta Regional Authority
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "covered_officials"
- → Collectively: SBA Administrator, ARC head, and DRA head
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Small Business Administration
- "appropriate_head_arc"
- → Appropriate head of the Appalachian Regional Commission
- "appropriate_head_dra"
- → Appropriate head of the Delta Regional Authority
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Has the meaning given the term region in section 382A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2009aa)
The entity established under subtitle F of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 2009aa et seq.)
A small business concern (as defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) located within the Appalachian region or Delta region
The commission established by section 14301(a) of title 40, United States Code
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