United States House Committee on Small Business

Committee information

• Date created: December 4, 1941 as a select committee; January 5, 1975 as a standing committee
• Members: Twenty-six as of the 119th Congress (2025)
• Subcommittees: Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains; Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development; Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access; Contracting and Infrastructure; Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations

Role

The United States House Committee on Small Business is a standing committee in the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for the legislative jurisdiction of the Small Business Administration, a government agency that provides support and advocacy of entrepreneurs and small businesses. The committee tries to implement bills and resolutions meant to help American small businesses successfully compete with larger corporations.

The Small Business Administration provides various loan programs to help small businesses get started by securing financing and capital. Without adequate capital, most entrepreneurs would not be able to start a business or help their businesses to grow. For example, one Small Business Administration program provides disaster loans which help small businesses recover from natural disasters such as hurricanes and wildfires.

The Small Business Administration also provides federal contracts for women-owned small businesses, veterans with service-related disabilities, and minorities. In addition, it administers Small Business Development Centers, volunteer-mentorship programs, and other counseling services that encourage small business owners to succeed.

The scope of the House Committee on Small Business also includes protection and stimulation of small businesses. The jurisdiction of the Committee on Small Business extends to any government program, organization, or initiative that assists or addresses the needs of small businesses that may be at a disadvantage. It also manages and supervises legislation aimed at small businesses.

The House Committee on Small Business oversees several important laws that affect small business and economic growth in the United States. Through its various subcommittees, it directs and implements laws such as the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Affordable Care Act, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The House Committee on Small Business also assesses and investigates problems and situations that threaten the health of small businesses. It looks at the impact of national business practices and future trends to assess the needs of small businesses. It supports entrepreneurial development programs to provide training, counseling, and access to resources.

The needs of small businesses are conveyed to the government through local business associations, such as chambers of commerce and rotary clubs. These associations work together to form powerful constituents and lobbies.

History

The first House Select Committee on Small Business was created on December 4, 1941, to address the increasing number of small business advocacy organizations and activists lobbying for better government protection and policies for small businesses. Its goal was to assist and protect small businesses, which were vital to the American economy. Select committees are temporary and must be renewed through legislation to continue to operate. At first, the committee did not have any legislative authority, but it continued to be reauthorized until the mid-1970s. On January 5, 1975, the committee was made a permanent standing committee and was granted the authority to review and draft legislative jurisdiction and oversee federal agencies and programs under its jurisdiction.

Encouraging the growth of small businesses has a positive effect on the economy. According to the Small Business Administration, over 33 million businesses in the United States were considered small businesses in the 2020s. Through oversight, policy, and regulation, the Committee on Small Business has enabled women and minorities to succeed in a business climate where large corporations typically have a competitive advantage. Many important American developments in technology and business started out as small businesses and were able to grow through the initiatives of this committee. Small businesses contributed to about half the US gross domestic product, employed about 47.5 percent of the private workforce, and created 1.9 million new jobs in the mid-2010s. Between 1995 and 2021, small businesses created over 62 percent of new jobs.

During times of recession or widespread financial crisis, the committee may also advocate for small businesses. For example, during the financial crisis of 2008, the committee held hearings in partnership with the Department of Treasury and the Federal Reserve. The effort led to emergency lending facilities being established to assist small businesses in weathering the financial crisis.

The committee oversees, implements, and regulates policies that serve small businesses in both the public and private sectors. The committee also handles legislation governing emerging issues such as cybersecurity. In examining issues, the committee looks at cost-effective solutions small businesses can realistically implement.

Subcommittees

The Committee on Small Business was made up of twenty-six members and five subcommittees as of the 119th Congress. Each of the subcommittees oversees a particular sector or issue that affects small businesses and provides specialized assistance.

United States House Small Business Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains

This subcommittee addresses issues and policies that affect economic growth in rural areas where agriculture is a dominant industry. It oversees agricultural and environmental policies, issues, and regulations, including such government agencies as the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Because energy policies impact small businesses, this subcommittee monitors energy dependence and independence. It oversees the expansion of renewable and non-renewable domestic energy resources.

In addition to domestic matters, the subcommittee oversees international trade policies that provide assistance to small businesses, including regulation of infringement of intellectual property rights by foreign competition. Some of the government agencies under the subcommittee’s jurisdiction are the Small Business Administration, the Office of International Trade, the Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service, and the Export-Import Bank.

United States House Small Business Subcommittee on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Workforce Development

A primary aspect of this subcommittee is oversight of the nation’s healthcare policies. The subcommittee reports on how those policies may encourage or discourage economic growth, which directly affects small businesses. It reviews healthcare coverage availability and affordability for small business owners. The subcommittee oversees the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), commonly called the Affordabe Care Act (ACA), a federal program that provides health insurance access for employees of small businesses. The passage of the act in 2010 spurred the most significant change in healthcare coverage for Americans since the implementation of Medicare and Medicaid in 1965. It reduced the uninsured population significantly and provided an option of employee coverage through the federal health exchange marketplace for owners of small businesses.

The subcommittee is also responsible for oversight of technology issues. It looks at the creation and implementation of new technologies and how they affect small business job growth. The subcommittee also manages intellectual property policies, ensuring small businesses are protected from intellectual property theft.

In addition, this subcommittee works with federal agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission to oversee telecommunication policy. This includes legislation related to the National Broadband Plan, Allocation of Electromagnetic Spectrum, and Wireless Telecommunication. The subcommittee also handles the Small Business Innovation Research Program, which provides contracts and grants to assist small businesses in conducting research and development. Another aspect under subcommittee jurisdiction is the Small Business Technology Transfer Program, a program that integrates partnerships between small businesses and nonprofit research institutes.

United States House Small Business Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax, and Capital Access

This subcommittee is responsible for overseeing and evaluating the actions of financial markets in relation to small businesses. This includes providing necessary money to small businesses by ensuring access capital. This subcommittee also oversees and reviews small business capital assistance federal programs, such as those offered by the Small Business Administration. These are programs that include financial assistance for small businesses through investment companies, disaster loan programs, and other agencies that provide loan guarantees such as the Department of Agriculture business and industry loan program.

The subcommittee is also responsible for implementation and continuation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This law was passed in response to the 2008 financial crisis as a means of providing financial regulation to alleviate some of the burden placed on small businesses. Because access to capital by small businesses falls under federal tax policy, this subcommittee also oversees the tax policy that affects small businesses.

United States House on Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure

This subcommittee oversees federal procurement practices and programs, specifically programs that provide small businesses with federal government contracts. It oversees contracting programs that have been established by the Small Business Act, which includes HUBZone, the Women-Owned Small Business Program, and the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Program. Federal policies that encourage participation of small businesses in the federal contracting marketplace are under this subcommittee’s jurisdiction. This committee also oversees the Small Business Association’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program, which guarantees the bonds issued by a surety agent and allows a small business contractor to bid on and win contracts.

The subcommittee also makes available entrepreneurial development and technical assistance to small businesses through various programs. This assistance is provided by Small Business Association employees, the Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, and Procurement Technical Assistance Centers. Entrepreneurial development and technical assistance programs may be related to federal government contracts, or they are available to other small businesses not associated with the federal contract program.

In addition, the subcommittee addresses the needs and abilities of small businesses to obtain and keep qualified employees. This is done through oversight of federal labor programs and their policies, such as those implemented by the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board.

United States House on Small Business Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Regulations

This subcommittee investigates the effectiveness and accountability of government policies and programs that affect small businesses. It oversees the general issues that may affect a small business and the federal agencies, offices, and programs geared toward helping small businesses. Its oversight extends to the Small Business Administration and the inspector general of the Small Business Administration. The subcommittee develops proposals for the cost-effective operation of agencies and programs. It also reviews regulations to examine how the proposals affect small businesses. In doing so, the committee looks for areas where regulatory burdens may be alleviated for small businesses through the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget.

This subcommittee also oversees several laws that benefit small businesses. Among those is the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which works to tailor regulations to the size and scale of a small business in an attempt to save money. Since overregulation can often hurt small businesses, this act works to monitor and reduce regulation that prevents small businesses from being profitable. Another way this subcommittee tries to help small businesses is through the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to review new federal regulations and potentially overrule or amend them. This subcommitee implemented the Administrative Procedure and Data Quality Acts to provide transparency of the federal rulemaking process for small businesses. Finally, the Paperwork Reduction Act was enacted to reduce the paperwork burden on small businesses and private citizens.

Bibliography

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Harrison, J.D., “Meet Congress’s New Small Business Leaders (Part 1).” Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2015, www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-small-business/wp/2015/02/17/meet-congresss-new-small-business-leaders-part-1. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

“History and Jurisdiction.” Committee on Small Business, democrats-smallbusiness.house.gov/about/history-jurisdiction.htm. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

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“Making Washington Work for America’s Small Businesses.” Government Publishing Office, 22 Mar. 2017, www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-115hhrg24673/pdf/CHRG-115hhrg24673.pdf. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

“Subcommittees.” Committee on Small Business, smallbusiness.house.gov/subcommittees. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.

“United States House of Representatives Committee on Small Business.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/United‗States‗House‗of‗Representatives‗Committee‗on‗Small‗Business. Accessed 23 Jan. 2025.