Chair Shaheen and Senator Kennedy Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Support for Rural Small Businesses

(Washington, DC) - U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chair of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship (SBC), and U.S. Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) today introduced the bipartisan Coordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Act. It directs 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.

"Rural small business owners rely on the SBA and USDA for critical resources to run and grow their businesses. This bipartisan legislation strengthens existing programs and ensures dedicated attention to the needs of rural small business owners," said Chair Shaheen. "In New Hampshire, our rural small businesses often overcome incredible challenges in order to grow and create jobs. I am proud to work across the aisle and take another step forward to help rural small businesses prosper."

"The Rural Small Businesses Act strengthens relations between the SBA and USDA and further advances the availability of credit to rural businesses. We applaud Senators Shaheen and Kennedy for their forward-thinking and proactive engagement," said Alan Hoskins, Chairman, The National Rural Lenders Association.

A one pager of the bill is available here.

To help rural small businesses, the Coordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Act directs SBA and USDA to expand outreach to rural lenders and small businesses about agency programs and convene working groups to:

• Identify synergies among the two agencies' loan programs, including both large programs like 7(a) and smaller microloan programs.
• Assess where SBA and USDA can coordinate in delivering resources through lenders, resource partners like Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs) and others.
• Coordinate SBA's Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program and USDA's Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) program.
• Share best practices among the two agencies, rural economic development groups and others, and evaluate how cooperatives can access SBA programs.
• Collaborate on technical assistance with procurement, exporting and innovation.

Together, SBA and USDA have the resources and experience to work alongside rural entrepreneurs and community leaders to find solutions to the unique problems faced by rural small businesses. Last year, the two agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a closer working relationship and formalize ongoing coordination and collaborative efforts.

Chair Shaheen has played a pivotal role in securing resources for New Hampshire's rural community. Shaheen recently secured $6,500,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending for rural development, and an additional $528,000 to support the development of a rural biotech entrepreneurial ecosystem and incubator. Another $155,000 will support a rural home health care initiative to reduce hospital readmissions for home health and hospice patients. $72,000 will also go to the Women's Rural Entrepreneurial Network (WREN) to remediate an ongoing flooding issue with the lower level of WREN's building. The project includes updates to the drainage system in WREN's Pocket Park and repairs and remodeling to WREN's basement, which will be repurposed for additional space to assist WREN's clients.

Shaheen also led efforts in Congress that support and invest in the Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC) and included bipartisan legislation to reauthorize and expand the NBRC's reach in the Farm Bill that was signed into law in 2018. Shaheen was recently joined by the New Hampshire delegation to announce that NBRC is providing more than $4 million through seven New Hampshire Catalyst Program awards to support economic, educational and community development projects in rural areas across the state. These awards will go to projects that will improve critical infrastructure, increase affordable housing in Whitefield, strengthen education facilities in Keene and Walpole and more.

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