The U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship advanced two bills aimed at helping rural small businesses this week.
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), chair of the committee, said the bipartisan bills would crack down on fraud and expand rural small businesses’ access to critical resources.
“The Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship continues to enact commonsense solutions to help Main Street,” Ernst said.
One bill, the Assisting Small Businesses Not Fraudsters Act, co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Todd Yong (R-IA) would prevent criminals convicted of defrauding the Small Business Administration (SBA) from receiving further assistance from the agency in the future.
“Covid-era programs meant to support small businesses were repeatedly taken advantage of by fraudsters, depriving businesses of much-needed relief. I’m leading this effort to ensure that those convicted of defrauding the SBA will no longer be able to access future financial assistance from taxpayers,” Young said.
The other bill, the Coordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Act, led by U.S. Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and John Kennedy (R-LA) will increase the coordination between the SBA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to support rural small businesses.
“In towns across Iowa, small businesses are the lifeblood of the local economies. This bipartisan measure will streamline coordination between government agencies and help ensure that these job creators have access to the resources they need to succeed,” Ernst said.