Northern Mariana Islands Small Business Access Act
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The bill would make small businesses and nonprofit childcare centers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands eligible for the Small Business Administration's microloan program, which offers loans of up to $50,000.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would amend the Small Business Act to add the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands alongside Guam wherever Guam is named in the microloan program's eligibility provisions, extending access to SBA microloans there. It would also adjust a fraction used in the program's funding formula from 1/55 to 1/56 to account for the new participant, and make a technical amendment to a related clause on rural-area lending.
The bill only changes eligibility and a funding-allocation formula within the existing microloan program; it does not create a new loan program, change loan terms or amounts, or appropriate new money.
Key provisions
- 1Would add the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to the Small Business Act's microloan program eligibility provisions wherever Guam is referenced
- 2Would change the funding allocation fraction in the microloan program from 1/55 to 1/56 to account for the new eligible jurisdiction
- 3Would make a technical amendment to the rural-area lending clause of the microloan program provisions
Who would be affected
Small businesses and eligible nonprofit childcare centers located in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, which could newly access SBA microloans of up to $50,000, as well as the Small Business Administration and the intermediary lenders that administer the microloan program.
Why it matters
Small businesses in the Northern Mariana Islands would gain access to a federal microlending source previously unavailable to them, potentially easing access to small-dollar capital in a market with limited local lending options. The formula adjustment ensures the addition of a new territory does not disrupt how program funds are allocated among participants.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 636(m)(7)(B) (Sec. 2(a))
Inserts the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands alongside Guam and changes the allocation fraction from 1/55 to 1/56
Amends Small Business Act, 15 U.S.C. 636(m)(11)(C)(ii) (Sec. 2(b))
Makes a technical amendment striking outdated language following 'rural' and replacing it
Agencies directed to act
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
Official CRS summary
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This bill expands eligibility for the Small Business Administration microloan program to include entities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
The microloan program provides loans up to $50,000 for small businesses and certain nonprofit childcare centers.
Legislative subjects
Administrative remedies; Commerce; Government lending and loan guarantees; Northern Mariana Islands; Small Business Administration; Small business
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-402