To amend the Small Business Act to enhance the Office of Rural Affairs, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
ReportedReported by Ms. Ernst, without amendment
Mrs. Shaheen (for herself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Coordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Act strengthens the Small Business Administration's Office of Rural Affairs by giving it more authority, clearer responsibilities, and better coordination with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The bill elevates the Office's leader to a Senior Executive Service position, requires the Office to host outreach events across rural America, and mandates that SBA and USDA work together through formal working groups to improve how rural small businesses access federal programs.
Who Benefits and How
Rural small business owners are the primary beneficiaries, as they will gain better access to federal loans, grants, and technical assistance through improved coordination between SBA and USDA programs. Specifically, the bill creates pathways for SBA-certified lenders and resource partners to increase their work in rural areas through coordinated outreach and referrals. Rural business cooperatives benefit from an explicit mandate to identify and remove barriers that prevent them from accessing SBA programs. Native American business owners in rural areas will see targeted support through coordinated assistance initiatives, while rural exporters and federal contractors gain access to better technical assistance on exportation and procurement.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal agency staff bear the primary burdens. The SBA Administrator must produce annual public reports on the Office's activities, notify Congress within 7 days of any changes to agreements with USDA, and analyze how well SBA lending programs serve rural businesses. The Office of Rural Affairs' staff face expanded duties including hosting regional outreach events, coordinating multiple interagency working groups, and managing increased reporting requirements, though the Assistant Administrator position is elevated to Senior Executive Service level with corresponding compensation. USDA rural development staff must participate in the new interagency working groups, attend coordination meetings, and share information with SBA, adding to their workload without additional funding specified in the bill.
Key Provisions
- Elevates the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Rural Affairs to a Senior Executive Service position, making it a higher-level political appointment requiring Senate confirmation consideration
- Requires the Office to host outreach events for rural small businesses in various regions of the United States, with participation from SBA district offices, resource partners, and federal and state agencies
- Mandates formal coordination between SBA and USDA through interagency working groups focused on capital access, identifying overlapping loan programs, coordinating disaster assistance, and supporting cooperatives' access to SBA programs
- Creates a 7-day notification requirement to Congress whenever SBA and USDA change or create new memoranda of understanding about rural business support
- Requires annual public reports detailing the Office's budget, staffing, outreach activities, lending program analysis, and progress on SBA-USDA coordination efforts
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Strengthens the Office of Rural Affairs within the Small Business Administration by elevating its leadership, expanding coordination with USDA, requiring outreach events, and mandating annual reporting on rural small business support.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Strengthen federal support for rural small businesses through improved SBA-USDA coordination, enhanced leadership accountability, and systematic outreach"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Rural small business owners seeking federal assistance
- Rural lending institutions and SBA resource partners
- Small Business Administration Office of Rural Affairs (elevated status)
- Cooperatives seeking SBA program access
- Native American business owners in rural areas
Likely Burden Bearers
- SBA Administrator (new reporting and coordination requirements)
- Assistant Administrator of Office of Rural Affairs (expanded duties, outreach obligations)
- SBA and USDA staff (additional interagency working groups and coordination meetings)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_office"
- → Office of Rural Affairs within SBA
- "the_department"
- → Department of Agriculture
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Small Business Administration
- "the_administration"
- → Small Business Administration
- "the_assistant_administrator"
- → Assistant Administrator of the Office of Rural Affairs (SBA)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
The Committees on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate; and the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives
The Assistant Administrator of the Office of Rural Affairs appointed under subsection (b)
The Department of Agriculture
Small business concerns located in rural areas (definition likely provided in parent statute 15 U.S.C. 653)
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