To improve the State Trade Expansion Program of the Small Business Administration.
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
This bill strengthens the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP), an SBA program that helps small businesses enter or grow in international export markets. It makes the grant application process more transparent, ensures states receive more predictable funding from year to year, and requires better reporting on program outcomes.
Who Benefits and How
Small businesses benefit from improved access to export assistance through their state programs, with better outreach to women-owned businesses and rural firms. State governments benefit from funding predictability (guaranteed at least 80% of prior year funding) and streamlined application processes. Women-owned and rural small businesses receive targeted attention through new disaggregated reporting requirements.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The Small Business Administration faces new administrative requirements including maintaining updated program information online, publishing application details by March 31 annually, conducting annual surveys, and submitting enhanced reports to Congress. State grant recipients must participate in annual surveys and contribute to best practices documentation.
Key Provisions
- Guarantees states receive at least 80% of prior year grant funding (Section 4)
- Requires SBA to publish transparent application procedures and deadlines by March 31 annually (Section 3)
- Mandates annual surveys of grant recipients and enhanced reporting on outcomes, including data disaggregated by women-owned and rural businesses (Section 6)
- Requires SBA report to Congress within one year on implementation (Section 8)
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
Improves the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) of the Small Business Administration to help more small businesses export their products and services internationally
Key Policy Areas
Small Business, International Trade, Economic Development
Primary Purpose
Improves the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) of the Small Business Administration to help more small businesses export their products and services internationally
Policy Domains
State Trade Expansion Program Improvements
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Small businesses seeking to export
- Women-owned small businesses
- Rural small businesses
- State trade promotion agencies
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Small Business Administration
- State grant recipients
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Legislative Progress
ReportedMrs. Shaheen, from the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
HUBZone businesses, Rural small businesses, Small businesses applying through STEP
Congress, Small Business Administration, Small Business Administration - Associate Administrator for International Trade
Positive-direction: Congress
Negative-direction: Small Business Administration, Small Business Administration - Associate Administrator for International Trade, Small Business Administration - Office of International Trade
State trade promotion agencies, State trade promotion agencies (grant recipients)
Positive-direction: State trade promotion agencies
Negative-direction: State trade promotion agencies (grant recipients)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_administrator"
- → Administrator of the Small Business Administration
- "associate_administrator"
- → Associate Administrator for International Trade of the SBA
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
As defined under section 3 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 632)
The fiscal year for which the Administrator is determining the amount of a grant to be awarded
The most recent fiscal year before the current fiscal year for which a State, territory, or commonwealth received a grant under the program
State Trade Expansion Program established under section 22(l) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 649(l))
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