US Policy Towards Entrepreneurship and Innovation

The following pieces of legislation in 2015 were found from http://www.GovTrack.us:

Acts reported on by the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship:

• S. 1001: The Veterans Entrepreneurial Transition Act of 2015
  • Amends the Small Business Act to direct the Small Business Administration (federal agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses) to carry out a pilot program to assess the feasibility and advisability of making grants to eligible veterans to start or acquire a qualifying business enterprise
• S. 2116: Small Business Broadband and Emerging Information Technology Enhancement Act of 2015
  • Improves certain programs of the Small Business Administration to better assist small business customers in accessing broadband technology
• S. 552: Small Business Investment Capital Company Act of 2015
  • Amends the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 to increase the maximum amount of outstanding leverage provided by the Small Business Administration to two or more commonly controlled small business investment companies not under capital impairment from $225 million to $350 million
• S. 996: Commercial Real Estate and Economic Development Act of 2015
  • Reinstates the authority for Small Business Administration low-interest refinancing of small business debt not involving business expansion under the SBA's local development business loan program
  • Effective: on and after enactment of this Act, and during any fiscal year in which the federal government's cost in making loan guarantees under such program is zero.
  • Repeals a provision of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 that terminated such authority as of September 27, 2012.
• S. 1292: HUBZone Revitalization Act of 2015
  • Amends the Small Business Act to redefine HUBZones (historically underutilized business Zones) eligible for certain assistance to include a qualified disaster area (a specified census tract or nonmetropolitan county located in a major declared disaster area or in an area where a catastrophic incident has occurred).
  • A qualified disaster area shall be treated as a HUBZone for 5 years after it has been declared a major disaster area or for 10 years after a catastrophic incident has occurred within it.
  • The Federal Emergency Management Agency shall provide the Small Business Administration with any data it needs to verify a small business's eligibility for the HUBZone small business loan program.