Native American Entrepreneurial Opportunity Act

The bill would amend the Small Business Act to authorize the Small Business Administration to establish an Office of Native American Affairs. The office would build working relationships with Indian tribes and Native Hawaiian organizations, targeting SBA entrepreneurial development, contracting, and capital-access programs to help establish or expand businesses owned by tribal or Native Hawaiian members and to promote economic development in Indian country. It would be led by a presidentially appointed Assistant Administrator with experience in Native American communities, who would provide direct assistance, conduct tribal consultations, and could award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, or affiliated nonprofits. The office's authority would expire seven years after enactment. The bill does not create new spending authority beyond what SBA already has, does not set a specific funding amount, and leaves other SBA programs and eligibility rules otherwise unchanged.

Indian tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, and small businesses owned by their members; the Small Business Administration and its Administrator, who would appoint and oversee the new Assistant Administrator; and nonprofit organizations governed by tribal or Native Hawaiian members that could receive SBA grants or contracts.

If enacted, tribal and Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs would gain a dedicated point of contact within the SBA for training, capital access, and contracting help, and could receive direct grants or cooperative agreements. Congress would also get annual reporting on the office's reach, letting lawmakers track whether the new office meaningfully expands Native business development before its seven-year authority lapses.

The SBA Administrator would appoint an Assistant Administrator for Native American Affairs to lead the new office. The office would target existing SBA entrepreneurial development, contracting, and capital-access programs toward tribal and Native Hawaiian communities, conduct tribal consultations, and could award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to tribes, Native Hawaiian organizations, or affiliated nonprofits for training and outreach. The Assistant Administrator would recommend annual budgets and submit yearly reports to Congress on clients served, consultations held, and trainings conducted, with the office's authority automatically expiring seven years after enactment absent further legislative action.