[House Report 119-225]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 119-225
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OFFICE OF RURAL AFFAIRS ENHANCEMENT ACT
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August 15, 2025.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Williams of Texas, from the Committee on Small Business,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
MINORITY VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4549]
The Committee on Small Business, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 4549) to amend the Small Business Act to clarify the
responsibilities of the Office of Rural Affairs of the Small
Business Administration, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
I. Purpose and Bill Summary........................................2
II. Need for Legislation............................................2
III. Hearings........................................................2
IV. Committee Consideration.........................................2
V. Committee Votes.................................................2
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4549.................................4
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate.......................4
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditure4
IX. Oversight Findings & Recommendations............................5
X. Performance Goals and Objectives................................5
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs....................5
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and Limited Tariff
Benefits........................................................5
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement......................................5
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement............................5
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch.............................5
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority...........................5
XVII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported...........6
XVIII.Minority Views..................................................9
I. Purpose and Bill Summary
On July 21, 2025, Rep. Goodlander, along with Rep. Wied and
Rep. Golden, introduced H.R. 4549, the Office of Rural Affairs
Enhancement Act. H.R. 4549 codifies the role of the Assistant
Administrator to serve as the head of the Office of Rural
Affairs.
II. Need for Legislation
H.R. 4549 codifies the SBA Office of Rural Affairs and is
crucial to ensuring consistent and targeted support for rural
entrepreneurs, who often face unique challenges such as limited
access to capital. By setting clear qualification standards for
leadership in the Office, the bill strengthens accountability
and focus in addressing rural economic development.
The Office's mandate to promote favorable policies, conduct
outreach events, and collaborate with SBA Resource Partners,
such as Small Business Development Centers, ensures a proactive
approach to reaching rural small businesses. Furthermore,
regular reporting to Congress on activities and service gaps
provides transparency and enables data-driven improvements.
This will ultimately help to close the opportunity gap between
urban and rural small businesses.
III. Hearings
On February 5, 2025, the Committee on Small Business held a
hearing examining matters related to H.R. 4549 entitled ``Hope
on the Horizon: Prioritizing Small Business Growth in the 119th
Congress.''
IV. Committee Consideration
The Committee on Small Business met in open session, with a
quorum being present, on July 22, 2025, and ordered H.R. 4549
to be reported favorably to the House of Representatives by a
roll call vote of 23 ayes to 0 nos. During the markup no
amendments were offered on this bill.
V. Committee Votes
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list the recorded
votes on the motion to report legislation and amendments
thereto. The Committee voted to favorably report H.R. 4549 to
the House of Representatives at 11:05 AM ET.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
VI. Section-by-Section of H.R. 4549
Section 1--Short title
This act may be cited as the ``Office of Rural Affairs
Enhancement Act.''
Section 2--Office of Rural Affairs of the Small Business Adminis-
tration
This section establishes an Assistant Administrator to
oversee the Office of Rural Affairs. The Assistant
Administrator will promote policies and programs of the SBA and
other federal agencies to assist rural small businesses.
The section is changed to have the Office of Rural Affairs
coordinate with the successor of the now-defunct United States
Tourism and Travel Administration, the National Travel and
Tourism Office of the Department of Commerce.
The Office will be responsible for hosting webinars and
outreach events for rural small businesses and inviting various
stakeholders, including district offices, resource partners,
and state and local governments to participate.
A report is due within 180 days of enactment and annually
thereafter on the activities of the Office and will include the
name of the Assistant Administrator, the budget of the Office,
the number of full-time employees of the Office, a summary of
outreach activities, analysis of lending programs in serving
rural small businesses, and information gathered from webinars
and outreach events.
Additionally, this section defines key terms mentioned
throughout the bill.
VII. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
Pursuant to 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House
of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its own the cost
estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974. At the time this report was filed, the Committee has
requested but not received a cost estimate from the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office.
VIII. New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority,
and Tax Expenditures
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives and section 308(a)(I) of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the
following opinion and estimate with respect to new budget
authority, entitlement authority, and tax expenditures. While
the Committee has not received an estimate of new budget
authority contained in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee does
not believe that there will be any new or increased costs
attributable to this legislation.
IX. Oversight Findings & Recommendations
In accordance with clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause
3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the oversight findings and recommendations of
the Committee on Small Business with respect to the subject
matter contained in H.R. 4549 are incorporated into the
descriptive portions of this report.
X. Performance Goals and Objectives
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the goal of
H.R. 4549 is to codify the Assistant Administrator role in the
SBA Office of Rural Affairs and provide qualification
requirements.
XI. Statement of Duplication of Federal Programs
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, no provision of H.R. 4549 is known to
be duplicative of another Federal program, including any
program that was included in a report to Congress pursuant to
section 21 of Public Law 111-139 or the most recent Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance.
XII. Congressional Earmarks, Limited Tax Benefits, and
Limited Tariff Benefits
With respect to clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that the bill
does not contain any congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in clause 9(e),
9(f), or 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of
Representatives.
XIII. Federal Mandates Statement
The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal
mandates prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office pursuant to section 423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform
Act.
XIV. Federal Advisory Committee Statement
No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b)
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act were created by this
legislation.
XV. Applicability to Legislative Branch
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
XVI. Statement of Constitutional Authority
Pursuant to clause 7 of rule XII of the Rules of the House,
the Committee finds that the authority for this legislation in
Art. I, Sec. 8, cl. 1 of the Constitution of the United States.
XVII. Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italics, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
SMALL BUSINESS ACT
* * * * * * *
SEC. 26. OFFICE OF RURAL AFFAIRS.
(a) There is hereby established in the Small Business
Administration an Office of Rural Affairs (hereafter in this
section referred to as the ``Office'').
[(b) The Office shall be headed by a director who shall be
appointed by the Administrator not later than 90 days after the
date of the enactment of this section.]
(b) Appointment of Assistant Administrator.--
(1) In general.--The Office shall be administered by
an Assistant Administrator, who shall be an employee in
the competitive service.
(2) Qualifications.--The Assistant Administrator
shall--
(A) have education or professional experience
with, or knowledge of, rural affairs and issues
relating to small business concerns; and
(B) have experience providing development
assistance to rural small business concerns.
(c) The Office shall--
(1) strive to achieve an equitable distribution of
the financial assistance available from the
Administration for [small business concerns located in
rural areas] rural small business concerns;
(2) to the extent practicable, compile annual
statistics on rural areas, including statistics
concerning the population, poverty, job creation and
retention, unemployment, business failures, and
business startups;
(3) [provide information] promote to industries,
organizations, and State and local governments
[concerning the assistance available to rural small
business concerns through the Administration and
through other Federal departments and agencies;] on the
policies and programs of the Administration and of
other Federal departments and agencies for assisting
rural small business concerns;
(4) provide information to industries, organizations,
educational institutions, and State and local
governments concerning programs administered by private
organizations, educational institutions, and Federal,
State, and local governments which improve the economic
opportunities of rural citizens[; and];
(5) work with [the United States Tourism and Travel
Administration] the National Travel and Tourism Office
of the Department of Commerce to assist [small
businesses in rural areas] rural small business
concerns with tourism promotion and development[.]; and
(6) host webinars and outreach events for rural small
business concerns as described in subsection (d).
(d) Outreach.--The Assistant Administrator shall--
(1) host webinars and outreach events in various
regions of the United States for rural small business
concerns; and
(2) invite representatives from district offices of
the Administration, resource partners, Federal and
State agencies, and other interested persons to
participate in such webinars and outreach events.
(e) Report.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this subsection, and annually
thereafter, the Administrator shall submit to the
Committee on Small Business of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship of the Senate, and make publicly
available on a website of the Administration, a report
on the activities of the Office during the one-year
period immediately preceding the date of submission of
the report.
(2) Contents.--Each report required under paragraph
(1) shall include the following:
(A) The operational details of the Office,
including the name of the Assistant
Administrator, the budget of the Office, and
the number of full-time employees employed by
or detailed to the Office.
(B) A summary of the activities conducted
under subsection (c).
(C) The number of webinars and outreach
events conducted by the Administration to
promote policies and programs described in
paragraph (3) of subsection (c) and to provide
information described in paragraph (4) of such
subsection.
(D) An analysis of the lending programs of
the Administration in serving the needs of
rural small business concerns.
(E) Information gathered from any webinars
and outreach events conducted by the
Administration during the period covered by the
report.
(f) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Assistant administrator.--The term ``Assistant
Administrator'' means the Assistant Administrator of
the Office of Rural Affairs appointed under subsection
(b).
(2) Resource partners.--The term ``resource
partners'' means--
(A) small business development centers;
(B) women's business centers (described under
section 29);
(C) chapters of the Service Corps of Retired
Executives (established under section
8(b)(1)(B)); and
(D) Veteran Business Outreach Centers
(described under section 32).
(3) Rural small business concern.--The term ``rural
small business concern'' means a small business concern
located in a rural area (as defined in section 7(b)(16)
of this Act).
* * * * * * *
XVIII. MINORITY VIEWS
Small businesses are powerful drivers of economic growth
across the United States. From the first quarter of 2021 to the
second quarter of 2024, small businesses were responsible for
52.8 percent of the total net job creation in the United
States.\1\ Small businesses are the primary source of jobs in
America's rural communities, and they have a higher percentage
of self-employed individuals relative to urban areas.\2\
However, small rural businesses face greater challenges,
including access to affordable capital, unreliable internet
access, and access to talent.\3\
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\1\Small Businesses Continue to Outpace Large Businesses in Job
Creation, U.S. Bureau of Lab. Stats. (Jun. 23, 2025), https://
www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2025/small-businesses-continue-to-
outpace-large-businesses-in-job-creation.htm.
\2\Joe Thiel, The Challenges of Rural Entrepreneurship and Some
Solutions, StartupNation (Jul. 2, 2024), https://startupnation.com/
start-your-business/challenges-rural-entrepreneurship-
solutions-thiel.
\3\Id.
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The Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Rural
Affairs (the Office) can play a key role in helping small rural
businesses overcome these challenges. The Office was created in
1990 to provide information and assistance to small rural
businesses. The responsibilities of the Office include
compiling statistics on rural areas and small business
concerns, distributing SBA financial assistance programs
equitably, providing information to stakeholders, and working
with the National Travel and Tourism Office to assist small
businesses in rural areas.
Unfortunately, the Office has either been dormant or the
collateral duty of a Regional Administrator for a vast majority
of the time since its establishment. In early 2020, an acting
director was named, and additional staff was hired with funding
from the CARES Act. In 2021, the SBA appointed a permanent,
full-time career deputy director to stand up the Office.
It is important for the Office to actively help small rural
businesses deal with the challenges facing them today. With
clear lines of communication and the additional outreach that
will come from the Office, small businesses will be able to
better access resources that should readily be available to
them. Furthermore, the Office will play a role in being able to
receive feedback from the small business community that will
allow the federal government insight into how to best use
resources to support small businesses.
Nydia M. Velazquez,
Ranking Member.
[all]