Bipartisan Shaheen, Kennedy Legislation to Improve Support for Rural Small Businesses Advances out of Small Business Committee

(Washington, DC) – Today, bipartisan legislation co-led by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH),a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship,and John Kennedy (R-LA) was advanced out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (SBC). TheCoordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Actwould direct the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to designate an Assistant Administrator for its Office of Rural Affairs and codifies ongoing cooperative efforts between the SBA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to improve support for rural small businesses. The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
“Small businesses are the backbone of rural communities but often face higher barriers to accessing federal programs and resources that would help them thrive,”said Shaheen.“I’m pleased that my colleagues on the Small Business Committee cleared the way for our bipartisan bill to increase coordination between federal agencies—bringing us one step closer to delivering more support for rural small businesses across the country.”
“Louisiana’s small businesses provide good paying jobs to folks throughout our state and support local economic growth. I’m glad to introduce this bipartisan bill to continue our investments in rural America,”said Kennedy.
To help rural small businesses, theCoordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Actdirects SBA and USDA to expand outreach to rural lenders and small businesses about agency programs and convene working groups to:
A one pager of the bill is availablehere.
As a former small business owner and nowa top member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Shaheen fights for New Hampshire’s—and America’s—small businesses. During her time as Chair of the committee, Shaheenfocused on addressing some of the biggest challengessmall business owners face. Shaheen also leads the bipartisanHelping Small Businesses THRIVE Actwith Kennedy that would direct SBA to create a new program that helps small businesses lock in the cost of commodities, like gasoline or lumber, in order to protect against the future volatile price of energy and other expenses. Shaheen also recently joined her Senate colleagues in introducing theSmall Business Technological Advancement Actto help small business owners integrate digital tools into their businesses.
Shaheen is the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for USDA and leads efforts to ensure rural small businesses can access the resources they need. Shaheen has supported more than 230 New Hampshire small businesses who have received over $25 million to lower energy bills and cut costs through USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program. Shaheen recentlyvisited a small business in Lisbonthat is using funding she championed to make energy efficiency upgrades.
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