This bill, the Veteran Entrepreneurship Empowerment Act, would change Small Business Administration (SBA) loan rules for businesses owned by veterans and their spouses. It would stop the SBA from charging certain guarantee fees on 7(a) loans and some Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) loans when the deferred participation share or the loan amount is not more than $1,000,000. It would exempt up‑front guarantee fees for SBA loans of $1,000,000 or less to veteran‑owned small businesses. The bill would also lower the required borrower equity (the borrower’s own investment) by at least 5 percentage points for certain startup or change‑of‑ownership loans of $1,000,000 or less to veterans or their spouses, and encourage lenders to reduce equity requirements for such loans. For SBA development company (CDC) loans, it sets a minimum equity injection of at least 5 percent for some loans to veteran‑owned small businesses. Finally, the bill would require the SBA to collect and publish data on veteran and veteran‑spouse participation in 7(a) and title V programs and to include participation data in its budget justification materials for several entrepreneurial development programs.
No publicly available information.
The bill cites reports showing veterans are more likely to own businesses but face barriers to getting capital. Proponents, as reflected in the bill text, view fee waivers and lower equity requirements for loans up to $1,000,000 as ways to improve veterans’ access to financing and support veteran entrepreneurship. The bill also aims to increase transparency by requiring SBA data collection and publication on veteran participation.
No publicly available information.