US House Bills Make it Easier for Small Businesses to Access Disaster Funding, Cyber Security

Small businesses face considerable challenges. These include everything from natural and man-made disasters to burdensome regulations.

You could be talking about a hurricane, cyber-attack or a regulation so demanding it discourages entrepreneurs. The result remains the same. They stop small businesses from running their companies and being efficient.

Government leaders wanted to eliminate or reduce the impact of some of these challenges. As a result, the House Committee on Small Business just passed five bills with a bipartisan effort. These bills amend the Small Business Act and the Small Business Investment Act.

Federal Resources for Small Businesses

Business leaders expect President Trump to sign them. And as a result, they will provide badly needed resources for small businesses.

Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY) quickly addressed the bill on regulations. He said, “We ought to be making it easier, not harder, for folks to start a business and access resources from the federal government. Today, the House passed my bipartisan @HouseSmallBiz bill to create a one-stop-shop for small businesses to comply with onerous regulations.”

The Bills

H.R. 277 “Access to Sufficient Capital for Everyone in Natural Disaster areas Act of 2019” (ASCEND Act) – Chairwoman Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) and Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH).

With H.R. 277 small businesses can secure more financing in case of a natural disaster. The bill permanently raises the minimum disaster loan amount.  But the Small Business Administration (SBA) may require collateral from $14,000 to $25,000.

H.R. 2142 “Centralized Compliance Assistance Website” – Rep. Antonio Delgado (D-NY) and Rep. John Joyce (R-PA)

This bill requires to creation of a central website with guides pertaining to federal regulations affecting small businesses. Small business owners will have a one-stop-shop online to navigate multiple agency websites to understand their responsibilities under new laws.

H.R. 2331 “SBA Cyber Awareness Act” – Rep. Jason Crow (D-CO) and Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH)

Small business owners know the outcome of a successful cyberattack becomes especially damaging. This bill strengthens how the SBA handles and reports cyber threats affecting small businesses.

It will disclose SBA’s cybersecurity infrastructure. And also reveal the agency’s strategy to improve cybersecurity protections. It identifies any equipment manufactured by a company headquartered in China. And it will disclose any incident of cyber risk and the agency’s actions to confront it.

H.R. 1649 “Small Business Development Center Cyber Training Act of 2019” – Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA)

This bill requires the SBA to establish a cyber counseling certification program. It certifies employees at small business development centers.

H.R. 2345 “Clarifying the Small Business Runway Extension Act” Rep. Pete Stauber (R-MN) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)

This bill eliminates the confusion small businesses face when they compete for federal contracts. It amends the Small Business Act so the SBA must follow the federal requirements pertaining to size standards.

Approval is Almost Certain

Of course, you’ll never find 100% certainty in Congress. Many members support these bi-partisan bills. They address issues important to improving the way small businesses operate. As a result, it will make it easier to get federal resources for small businesses.

Once they pass the Senate, President Trump is very likely to sign them into law.

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This article, "US House Bills Make it Easier for Small Businesses to Access Disaster Funding, Cyber Security" was first published on Small Business Trends