A House subcommittee this week approved a raft of bills that, if passed on the floor, would expand support for small businesses owned by veterans, Native Americans and women.
The bills would update what is known as the Entrepreneurial Development programs within the federal Small Business Administration.
The committee, formally known as the House Committee on Small Business Subcommittee on Rural Development, passed seven bills. Here they are:
H.R. 1803, the Veterans Business Center Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Glenn Nye (D-VA), expands support for veteran-owned small businesses through existing Veterans' Business Center program centers and creates new facilities to meet growing demands for these services.
H.R. 1834, The Native American Business Development Enhancement Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-AZ), expands Native American entrepreneurial services by creating the Office of Native American Affairs with new grants and services promoting entrepreneurship opportunities.
H.R. 1807, the Educating Entrepreneurs through Today's Technology Act, introduced by Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), improves the SBA's online and distance learning resources with high-quality multilingual training and educational resources for entrepreneurs.
H.R. 1838, the Women's Business Center Act, introduced by Rep. Mary Fallin (R-OK), expands Women's Business Centers to meet the growing needs of female entrepreneurs, and brings more transparency to the grants awards process while improving the National Women's Business Council research.
H.R. 1839, the SCORE Act, introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL), strengthens the SCORE program, and updates its mandate to improve its valuable business mentoring services.
H.R. 1842, the Expanding Entrepreneurship Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), improves SBA's entrepreneurial development program coordination, setting performance benchmarks and increasing partnerships with local entrepreneurial training providers.
H.R. 1845, The Small Business Development Center Modernization Act of 2009, introduced by Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), modernizes the Small Business Development Centers program to assist entrepreneurs in accessing capital, securing procurement opportunities, and increasing energy efficiency.
