House passes five bipartisan bills to help small businesses

The U.S. House of Representatives passed five small business bills recently, including one that seeks to help service-disabled veterans.

The Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act (H.R. 3511) would require federal agencies to spend five percent of all contracting dollars with small businesses owned by service-disabled veterans. It is sponsored by Reps. Nick LaLota (R-NY), Morgan McGarvey (D-KY), Susie Lee (D-NV), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), and Mike Lawler (R-NY).

“My Service-Disabled Veteran Opportunities in Small Business Act will increase opportunities and capital access for our nation’s heroes,” LaLota said.

LaLota was the sponsor of three of the five bills that passed. Another is the DOE and SBA Research Act (H.R. 4669), sponsored by LaLota and Thanedar. This bill would require the Department of Energy and the Small Business Administration to enter into an agreement to collaborate on research and development activities.

“My DOE and SBA Research Act allows facilities like Brookhaven National Laboratory to improve their already successful projects by participating in joint research and development activities,” LaLota said.

The third is the WOSB Certification and Opportunity Expansion Act (H.R. 7105), sponsored by LaLota and Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY). This legislation would require that only women-owned small businesses that have been certified by a federal agency, state government, or national certifying entity approved by the SBA are included when calculating whether a federal agency has met its contracting goals with respect to such businesses during a fiscal year.

LaLota said this bill “will help women-owned small businesses stay free from fraud.”

All three of these bipartisan bills passed unanimously in the House.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy, and I am proud to see my first three bills pass the House today. Each one of these bills will support small businesses across the country in their work to support our entire economy,” said LaLota, chair of the Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure.

The House passed two other bills related to small businesses, including the Small Business Administration Rural Performance Report Act (H.R. 5265), which would require the SBA to report on its efforts – specifically within the Office of Rural Affairs – to promote businesses and agricultural economies in rural areas. The other bill that passed is the Encouraging Success Act (H.R. 6591), which would direct the SBA to reassess the 8(a) program threshold cap every four years to ensure that it is in line with market realities.

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