(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship and a senior member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, voted to advance the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations bill. In a vote of 27-0, the Appropriations Committee approved the bipartisan legislation, which includes $1.6 billion for the Small Business Administration (SBA), an increase of $61 million from the previous fiscal year, and $4.5 million in Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) awards for individual projects supporting small business development across the Granite State.
“I’m thrilled to see major funding increases for the SBA benefiting nearly every key program, including the Small Business Development Centers, the State Trade Expansion Program and the Microloan Program. These are crucial investments that will directly support the growth and success of our small businesses,” said Chair Shaheen. “I look forward to securing and delivering these essential investments to Granite State organizations. By helping our local entrepreneurs thrive, we will create and sustain good-paying jobs across the state.”
The FY25 FSGG bill contains a $61 million increase for SBA, including increases for key programs championed by Chair Shaheen:
State Trade Expansion Program (STEP)
STEP provides grants to state and territory governments to assist small businesses with export development. Chair Shaheen created STEP in 2010 and continues to lead action in support of STEP in Congress, including reporting her STEP Modernization Act of 2024 out of committee in May. Chair Shaheen leads an annual sign-on letter requesting increased funding for STEP. The committee-passed bill includes a $1 million increase for STEP, which would be the first increase for the program in three years.
Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and Entrepreneurial Development (ED) Programs
The SBDC program is the federal government’s largest management and technical assistance program for small businesses, providing free or low-cost counseling, training and technical assistance. SBDCs initially faced a potential $19 million funding cut in this year’s proposed budget. Chair Shaheen led a sign-on letter opposing this cut and instead requested increased funding for SBDCs and SBA’s other ED programs. The FY25 FSGG bill includes a $3 million increase for SBDCs. The bill also includes increases for SBA’s other ED programs: $500,000 for Veterans’ Outreach Programs, and $1 million for both Women’s Business Centers and SCORE.
Microloan Technical Assistance
The SBA Microloan Program provides small-scale loans to small businesses that are unable to qualify for conventional loans. The program also provides Technical Assistance, which helps borrowers succeed by providing training and counseling. Recognizing the ongoing success of the Microloan Program and the importance of small dollar loans in reaching underbanked markets, Chair Shaheen led a sign-on letter requesting increased funding for Microloan Technical Assistance, helping secure a $1 million increase for the program in the FY25 FSGG bill.
SBA Office of Inspector General (OIG)
The SBA OIG provides independent oversight of SBA and its programs. In November 2023, Chair Shaheen sent a letter to the FSGG subcommittee requesting that OIG receive appropriate funding to continue its work investigating fraud in the COVID relief programs. The FY25 FSGG bill includes $47 million for OIG, a $10 million increase over FY24 enacted levels.
SBA District Office Staffing
The FY25 FSGG bill emphasizes the importance of SBA district office staff in providing direct help to local small businesses and includes Chair Shaheen’s provision requiring the SBA to quickly fill vacant positions at SBA district offices.
Succession Planning Toolkit
The FY25 FSGG bill also includes Chair Shaheen’s language encouraging SBA to develop a publicly available online toolkit that can be used by SBA’s resource partners to guide small business owners through the process of creating a succession plan. This language builds on what Chair Shaheen heard from small businesses and experts during the hearing on Succession Planning convened on January 24, 2024. The toolkit will also provide owners with information on employee ownership options, including Employee Stock Ownership Plans, as succession planning strategies.
The FY25 FSGG bill also included $4.5 million for nine CDS small business development projects across the Granite State:
Childcare Small Businesses
Strengthening New Hampshire Childcare Small Businesses
Recipient: Early Learning New Hampshire
Location: Concord
Amount: $1,001,000
Description: This project will expand and scale up the State Early Learning Alliance (SELA) web platform, a comprehensive toolkit for childcare small business owners and providers in New Hampshire.
Bringing it Home
Recipient: Monadnock Economic Development Corporation
Location: Keene
Amount: $600,000
Description: Funding will support the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation’s general entrepreneurial training and technical assistance programming for small and micro businesses and provide funding for technical assistance specific to the Bringing it Home project.
Early Care Resource Network
Recipient: Community Action Partnership of Strafford County
Location: Dover
Amount: $118,000
Description: Funding will support the Early Childhood Resource Network, a support network and online toolbox for small childcare business owners and early childhood professionals in the Strafford County area.
Climate Resiliency and Outdoor Economy
Coos County Outdoor Economy Small Business Resiliency Support
Recipient: Coos County Economic Development Corporation
Location: Lancaster
Amount: $200,000
Description: CDS funds will be used to support the expansion of Coos Economic Development Corporation’s technical assistance program for local outdoor economy small businesses.
Entrepreneurship Development
Claremont Small Business Center
Recipient: Claremont Development Authority
Location: Claremont
Amount: $466,000
Description: CDS funding will support the Claremont Small Business Center Project, a small business coworking and retail space in downtown Claremont.
Expansion of the Entrepreneurship Center Space at the University of New Hampshire
Recipient: University of New Hampshire
Location: Durham
Amount: $1,150,000
Description: CDS funding will be used to open a relocated and improved Entrepreneurship Center at the University of New Hampshire.
Nashua Region Online Entrepreneurship Toolbox
Recipient: Nashua Regional Planning Commission
Location: Nashua
Amount: $200,000
Description: Requested funds will be used to develop the Spark Online Toolbox, an online resource to support entrepreneurship in the Nashua Region.
Small Business Technical Assistance
Cybersecurity Solutions for New Hampshire Small Businesses
Recipient: New Hampshire Small Business Development Center
Location: Durham
Amount: $500,000
Description: Funding will support the development of a cybersecurity training and technical assistance program for small businesses, particularly those who would like to work in the Defense Industrial Base and require a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 2.0.
Strafford Economic Development Corporation Technical Assistance Expansion Project
Recipient: Strafford Economic Development Corporation
Location: Dover
Amount: $300,000
Description: CDS funds will allow the Strafford Economic Development Corporation to provide technical assistance directly to small business owners, and help other Economic Development Corporations.
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