S. 121: Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-01-12 · Commerce · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-01-12 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. 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

Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act

Plain summary

Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act This bill amends the Small Business Act to establish the Boots to Business Program under which the Small Business Administration (SBA) shall provide entrepreneurship training to: members of the Armed Forces, individuals participating in the Transition Assistance Program (Department of Defense), individuals who served on active duty and who were discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable, and their spouses or dependents. The SBA shall establish: (1) a Women Veterans Business Training Program, and (2) a Business Training Program for Service Disabled Veterans. The SBA shall establish a veterans' business outreach center program to provide financial assistance to educational institutions, veterans' nonprofit community-based organizations, and federal, state, and local departments and agencies to conduct renewable five-year projects for the benefit of small businesses owned and controlled by veterans. An assisted entity shall establish or operate a veterans' business outreach center to provide veterans, service-disabled veterans, and reservists, as well as their spouses, and the spouses of active duty members of the Armed Forces with: financial, management, and marketing advice and training; and technical assistance and training for obtaining federal procurement opportunities. The SBA may discontinue financial assistance to an entity at any time for poor performance. The SBA shall designate at least one individual in each SBA district office as a veterans business development officer to coordinate district office activities with entities receiving financial assistance under this bill. The SBA shall establish the Veterans Business Owners Initiative Pilot Program to provide grants to nonprofit entities for peer support groups that provide small business career training to: members of the Armed Forces, individuals participating in the Transition Assistance Program (Department of Defense), Reservists, veterans, and their spouses or dependents. The SBA shall establish an online mechanism to assist veterans' assistance providers. The SBA shall establish an online mechanism that serves as a one-stop online resource for veterans regarding SBA entrepreneurial development programs. The SBA's duties are expanded to include making grants to, or entering into cooperative agreements with, nonprofit entities to operate federal contracting training programs for veteran-owned small businesses.

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

Veterans Small Business Ownership Improvements Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Alternatives

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

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Heller, Dean [R-NV] · 1 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Tim Kaine (D-VA)

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)

Ballot initiative: A proposed law or constitutional amendment that citizens place on the ballot by gathering enough voter signatures, so voters decide it directly. About half the states allow some form of it.
Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

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-115s121.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s121 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115