S. 2862: Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009

111th Congress · introduced 2009-12-09 · Commerce · Latest: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 633.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2009-12-09 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 633. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009

Plain summary

Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009 - Amends the Small Business Act to: (1) require the Office of International Trade of the Small Business Administration (SBA) to implement small business export promotion programs that increase the number of small businesses that export as well as the volume of their exports; and (2) establish an Associate Administrator for International Trade as the head of the Office. Repeals the five-person limit on the number of additional Associate Administrators the SBA Administrator may appoint. Requires Export Assistance Centers (one-stop shops for U.S. exporters) to aid the Associate Administrator in promoting export assistance programs through SBA district and regional offices, the small business development center network, Export Assistance Centers, the network of women's business centers, chapters of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), state and local export promotion programs, and partners in the private sector. Requires the Associate Administrator to establish annual goals to enhance the export capabilities of small businesses and small manufacturers to compete against foreign entities. Directs the Associate Administrator, in order to provide small businesses access to certain export financing programs, to appoint at least one trade financial specialist within the SBA to oversee international loan programs and assist SBA employees with trade finance issues. Directs the SBA Administrator to establish an export and trade counseling certification program for employees of lead small business development centers and lead women's business centers in providing export assistance to small businesses. Requires the Associate Administrator to develop performance measures to support export growth goals for Office activities to promote exports by small businesses. Directs the SBA Administrator to carry out a comprehensive program to help small businesses to resolve international trade disputes. Directs the SBA Administrator, in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce, to ensure that the number of export finance specialists assigned to the Export Assistance Centers is at least the number that were assigned on January 1, 2003. Requires that there are at least three specialists in each SBA region. Increases the total outstanding amount of a loan guaranteed by the SBA under the Export Working Capital Program. Caps SBA participation in an international trade loan at 90%. Authorizes the SBA to make a guaranteed loan for working capital that will allow an eligible small business concern engaged in or adversely affected by international trade to improve its competitive position. Allows such loan to be secured by a second lien position on the property or equipment financed by the loan or on other assets of the small business concern. (Currently, a first lien position or first mortgage on the property, equipment, or other business assets is required.) Names the foreign market development loan guarantee program the Export Working Capital Program. Establishes the Export Express Program to authorize the SBA Administrator to guarantee loans to small businesses for export development activities. Directs the Associate Administrator to establish a three-year State Trade and Export Promotion Grant (pilot) Program to make grants to states to carry out export promotion programs for small businesses, including those owned and controlled by women and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. Requires the SBA Administrator to report to Congress on rural export promotion programs for small businesses. Requires a small business development center that counsels a small business concern on international trade issues to: (1) consult with state trade agencies and Export Assistance Centers to provide appropriate services to the small business concern; and (2) refer the small business concern to a State trade agency or an Export Assistance Center, as necessary, for further counseling or assistance. Requires: (1) the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to notify the SBA Administrator at least 90 days before entering into trade agreement negotiations with a foreign country; and (2) the SBA Administrator to present recommendations relating to small business exporter concerns to the USTR at least 30 days before negotiations begin.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Snowe, Olympia J. [R-ME] · 13 cosponsors

Cost estimate: CBO cost estimate: S. 2862, Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009 (2010-01-21); CBO cost estimate: S. 2862, Small Business Export Enhancement and International Trade Act of 2009 (2010-01-21)

Cosponsors on this site

Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (2)

Appropriation: Money a legislature sets aside by law for a specific purpose. Government agencies may spend public money only as it has been appropriated.
Authorization: A law that creates or continues a government program and says what it may do, often with a suggested spending ceiling. An authorization alone does not provide money; a separate appropriation does.

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-111s2862.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/111/s>

Record fed-us-cong111-s2862 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong111 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong111