The bill
Coordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Act
S. 1093, 119th Congress — read as touching Agribusiness.
Sponsored by
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
ID: S001181
Follow the money
The bill
S. 1093, 119th Congress — read as touching Agribusiness.
The sponsor
Every bill has someone who introduced it. That name is where the paper trail starts.
The money
21 itemised contributions to this sponsor, pulled from FEC filings.
The alignment
This bill's text tracks the "Introduction" section, p. 783-785 of the Mandate for Leadership.
Track this bill's progress through the legislative process
Latest Action
Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 37.
March 31, 2025
📍 Current Status
Next: The bill will be reviewed by relevant committees who will debate, amend, and vote on it.
1. Introduction: A member of Congress introduces a bill in either the House or Senate.
2. Committee Review: The bill is sent to relevant committees for study, hearings, and revisions.
3. Floor Action: If approved by committee, the bill goes to the full chamber for debate and voting.
4. Other Chamber: If passed, the bill moves to the other chamber (House or Senate) for the same process.
5. Conference: If both chambers pass different versions, a conference committee reconciles the differences.
6. Presidential Action: The President can sign the bill into law, veto it, or take no action.
7. Became Law: If signed (or if Congress overrides a veto), the bill becomes law!
Another "feel-good" bill from our esteemed lawmakers, designed to make them look like they care about rural small businesses while actually doing nothing of substance. Let's dissect this farce.
**Main Purpose & Objectives:** The Coordinated Support for Rural Small Businesses Act (S 1093) claims to enhance the Office of Rural Affairs within the Small Business Administration (SBA). Its stated goals are to improve support for rural small businesses, increase access to capital and resources, and promote interagency cooperation. How quaint.
**Key Provisions & Changes to Existing Law:** The bill makes several changes to the Small Business Act, including:
* Establishing an Assistant Administrator position within the Office of Rural Affairs * Expanding the duties of the Office to include hosting outreach events and coordinating with other federal agencies * Improving information sharing and cooperation between the SBA and the Department of Agriculture
These "reforms" are nothing more than window dressing, designed to create the illusion of action. The real purpose is to provide a fig leaf for lawmakers to hide behind while they continue to ignore the systemic issues plaguing rural America.
**Affected Parties & Stakeholders:** The bill's proponents claim it will benefit rural small businesses, but let's be real – this legislation is primarily designed to help politicians like Mrs. Shaheen and Mr. Kennedy look good back home. The actual beneficiaries will likely be:
* Lobbyists and special interest groups who'll use the new outreach events as opportunities to schmooze with bureaucrats * Federal agencies looking to expand their bureaucratic empires * Politicians seeking to pad their resumes with "rural-friendly" legislation
**Potential Impact & Implications:** This bill will have a negligible impact on rural small businesses, but it may:
* Create new bureaucratic positions and increase the SBA's budget * Provide more opportunities for politicians to grandstand about their commitment to rural America * Further entrench the existing power structures that perpetuate inequality and neglect in rural areas
In short, this bill is a classic example of legislative theater – all sound and fury, signifying nothing. It's a Band-Aid on a bullet wound, designed to make politicians look good rather than actually addressing the deep-seated problems facing rural America.
Diagnosis: This bill suffers from a severe case of " Politician-itis" – a disease characterized by an excessive desire for self-aggrandizement and a complete lack of genuine concern for the welfare of constituents. Treatment involves a healthy dose of skepticism, a strong stomach, and a willingness to call out the obvious lies and half-truths peddled by our elected officials.
Sen. Shaheen, Jeanne [D-NH]
Congress 119 • 2024 Election Cycle
No PAC contributions found
No committee contributions found
This bill has 1 cosponsors. Below are their top campaign contributors.
ID: K000393
Top Contributors
10
Hub layout: Politicians in center, donors arranged by type in rings around them.
Showing 31 nodes and 24 connections (45 secondary connections hidden)
Total contributions: $125,050
Showing top 13 donors by contribution amount
Which industries are materially affected by specific provisions in this bill. 3 helped.
Section 2(e)(2)(B)(iv) mentions collaborating on technical assistance with respect to exportation and procurement, which could benefit agribusinesses involved in rural export and procurement activities.
Section 2(e)(2)(B)(iv) includes collaboration on technical assistance for exportation and procurement, which could aid crop producers in rural areas accessing markets and federal programs.
Section 2(e)(2)(B)(iv) references technical assistance for exportation and procurement, which could support meat and dairy processors in rural areas seeking to expand market access.
This bill shows semantic similarity to the following sections of the Project 2025 policy document.
— 750 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise THE SBA IN A CONSERVATIVE ADMINISTRATION Reforming and restructuring the SBA under a conservative Administration would meet the needs of America’s small-business owners and entrepreneurs, not special interests in Washington, D.C. Entrepreneurs believe the SBA is fairly archaic in its operations and programming and must be transformed to serve small businesses in the modern economy effectively.33 Therefore, a restructured and reformed SBA would end the long-term deficiencies, practices, and problems that have prolonged the decades-long cycle of waste, fraud, and mismanagement. Moreover, the SBA Administrator and leadership can provide significant value to all small businesses by strongly advocating for their policy needs and fostering an agencywide culture that values all small-business owners and does not exclude certain groups. Under a conservative Administration, success would yield: l A highly qualified SBA Administrator and leadership team that can competently run the agency and enthusiastically advocate for the policy issues and needs of small-business owners and entrepreneurs. l A tighter, more focused SBA that concentrates on congressionally authorized programs. l An accountable SBA Administrator and staff who report regularly to Congress, respond on a timely basis to requests from individual Members of Congress, and satisfactorily implement or respond to IG and GAO recommendations. l A full accounting of and an end to waste, fraud, and abuse in all COVID-19 relief programs, including the PPP and EIDL programs, and action that follows the rule of law by ensuring that loan recipients who are not eligible for loan forgiveness or who falsified loan applications either pay back the funds or are referred to law enforcement. l An end to SBA direct lending. l An approach to small-business lending and capital programs that supports a resilient small-business supply chain (for example, by financing technological upgrades and capital expenditures). l Outreach to all small businesses and those that are eligible for program support across sectors and geographic areas. Through congressionally authorized programs and collaboration with partners and business associations, the SBA could use the latest technology and platforms to — 751 — Small Business Administration implement relevant initiatives to reach small businesses. Programs would be nonduplicative and implemented on a first-come, first-served basis. l A modern, revamped, and streamlined SBA that better utilizes current technology and platforms for operations, for reporting, and in its programs to reach, service, and engage small businesses. l An Office of Advocacy that is strengthened by a renewed mandate and additional resources to protect against overregulation along with a research agenda that includes measuring the total cost that federal regulation imposes on small businesses. Accountability and Managerial Practice. The SBA lacks accountability and managerial practices to measure the effectiveness, success, and integrity of its various programs. As a future Administration evaluates agency structure and the particulars of how the SBA is spending appropriated funds, it should immediately require actions and procedures to compel a culture of accountability and perfor- mance. Specifically: l Require performance metrics and internal procedures to safeguard taxpayer dollars and program integrity. As noted in an October 2022 IG report, failure to adopt procedures that would reliably capture data and information for various programs, coupled with significant challenges and weaknesses regarding IT investments, systems development, and security controls, presents significant risks to program integrity and increased risk of waste, fraud, and abuse.34 Addressing these shortcomings and risks should be a priority challenge and action item for the next Administration. As underscored by the Inspector General in his introduction to the report, “Pandemic response has, in many instances, magnified the challenging systemic issues in SBA’s mission-related work.”35 l Review all internal government watchdog recommendations and require that SBA management implement or address outstanding and ongoing OIG and GAO recommendations within a specified time frame (ideally within 90 days of a recommendation) and on an ongoing basis. Strengthening the Office of Advocacy. The SBA Office of Advocacy (Advo- cacy) is “an independent office” within the SBA.36 It accounts for about one one-thousandth of SBA spending and 0.75 percent of SBA personnel. Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act, both under its current authority and with suggested
— 750 — Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise THE SBA IN A CONSERVATIVE ADMINISTRATION Reforming and restructuring the SBA under a conservative Administration would meet the needs of America’s small-business owners and entrepreneurs, not special interests in Washington, D.C. Entrepreneurs believe the SBA is fairly archaic in its operations and programming and must be transformed to serve small businesses in the modern economy effectively.33 Therefore, a restructured and reformed SBA would end the long-term deficiencies, practices, and problems that have prolonged the decades-long cycle of waste, fraud, and mismanagement. Moreover, the SBA Administrator and leadership can provide significant value to all small businesses by strongly advocating for their policy needs and fostering an agencywide culture that values all small-business owners and does not exclude certain groups. Under a conservative Administration, success would yield: l A highly qualified SBA Administrator and leadership team that can competently run the agency and enthusiastically advocate for the policy issues and needs of small-business owners and entrepreneurs. l A tighter, more focused SBA that concentrates on congressionally authorized programs. l An accountable SBA Administrator and staff who report regularly to Congress, respond on a timely basis to requests from individual Members of Congress, and satisfactorily implement or respond to IG and GAO recommendations. l A full accounting of and an end to waste, fraud, and abuse in all COVID-19 relief programs, including the PPP and EIDL programs, and action that follows the rule of law by ensuring that loan recipients who are not eligible for loan forgiveness or who falsified loan applications either pay back the funds or are referred to law enforcement. l An end to SBA direct lending. l An approach to small-business lending and capital programs that supports a resilient small-business supply chain (for example, by financing technological upgrades and capital expenditures). l Outreach to all small businesses and those that are eligible for program support across sectors and geographic areas. Through congressionally authorized programs and collaboration with partners and business associations, the SBA could use the latest technology and platforms to
Policy matches are calculated using semantic similarity between bill summaries and Project 2025 policy text. A score of 60% or higher indicates meaningful thematic overlap. This does not imply direct causation or intent, but highlights areas where legislation aligns with Project 2025 policy objectives.