Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Notable Legislation

A group of women in front of a desk, posing for a picture while displaying a professional demeanor.

Throughout the years, the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) has sought to keep an eye on bills in Congress that have the potential to make a positive impact on women’s entrepreneurship. Much of this legislation has made its way into our policy recommendations throughout the years. To learn more about these past bills and how the Council has proposed they be modified or enacted to support women’s business enterprise, please visit our Annual Reports page.

Outside of bills captured by our policy recommendations, a select few have been highlighted below as notable legislation due to their bipartisanship, specific focus on women in business, or the overall benefit they would represent to our nation’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

01

Women’s Business Centers Improvement Act of 2023 (S.2184/H.R.5361)

Introduced by Sens. Cardin, Duckworth, Hirono, Shaheen, and Cantwell and Reps. Davids, Velazquez, Foushee, Bonamici, Holmes Norton, Tokuda, and González-Colón, this bill would reauthorize and improve the Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) Women’s Business Center Program.

02

Interagency Committee on Women’s Business Enterprise Act of 2023 (S.2094)

Introduced by Sen. Duckworth, this bill would reauthorize the Interagency Committee for Women’s Business Enterprise to help coordinate federal resources to encourage the success of women-owned businesses.

03

MicroCap Small Business Investing Act of 2023 (S.1157/H.R.3717)

Introduced by Sens. Hickenlooper, Risch, and Cortez Masto and Reps. Neguse and Young, this bill would create a new Small Business Investment Company license designation to diversify fund managers.

04

PREPARE Act of 2023 (S.1370/H.R.2966) 

Introduced by Sens. Rubio and King and Reps. Morelle and Stauber, this bill would reauthorize SBA’s Pre-Disaster Mitigation Pilot Program to give small businesses the opportunity to take out low-interest loans to proactively implement mitigation measures to protect their property from future disaster-related damage.

05

FAST Fix Act of 2023 (S.1003)

Introduced by Sen. Risch and Rosen, this bill would modify SBA’s Federal and State Technology Partnership Program to encourage federal economic development grants to be awarded to small businesses or universities that do not typically receive Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer awards.

06

Small Business Child Care Investment Act (S. 673/H.R.2602)

Introduced by Sens. Rosen and Ernst and Reps. Lee and Stauber, this bill would make non-profit childcare businesses eligible for SBA loans.

07

SCORE for Small Business Act of 2023 (S.1744)

Introduced by Sens. Coons and Cardin, this bill would reauthorize and improve the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) volunteer program, a valuable SBA resource partner.

08

Supporting Small Business and Career and Technical Education Act of 2023 (S.936/H.R.1730)

Introduced by Sens. Marshall, Coons, and Cardin and Reps. Williams and Gluesenkamp Perez, this bill would connect technical education program graduates to small business resource centers, including women’s business centers. 

09

Supporting Community Lenders Act (S.2099)

Introduced by Sens. Hickenlooper, Hyde-Smith, Warner, and Braun, this bill would establish a coordinator for Community Development Financial Institutions within the SBA to help advocate for community lenders.