The "GREATER Act" mandates collaboration between the Small Business Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Delta Regional Authority to support rural entrepreneurship and small businesses in the Appalachian and Delta regions, requiring a report to Congress on these efforts.
Julia Letlow
Representative
LA-5
The "GREATER Act" mandates collaboration between the Small Business Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and the Delta Regional Authority to support small businesses in the Appalachian and Delta regions. It requires a memorandum of understanding to coordinate activities and a report to Congress on the outcomes of these efforts. The goal is to boost rural entrepreneurship and maximize the effectiveness of assistance to small businesses in these regions.
GREATER Act Orders Federal, Regional Agencies to Forge Plan Supporting Appalachian and Delta Small Businesses Within 120 Days
This bill, the GREATER Act, directs three key players – the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), and the Delta Regional Authority (DRA) – to hammer out a formal agreement, a memorandum of understanding (MOU), within 120 days. The goal is straightforward: get these agencies working together better to boost entrepreneurship and support existing small businesses located specifically within the Appalachian and Delta regions.
Mandating Teamwork for Regional Growth
The core requirement here is the MOU. Section 2 mandates these three entities create a plan to coordinate their activities aimed at helping what the bill calls "covered small business concerns" – essentially, any small business as defined by the Small Business Act that operates within the designated Appalachian region (defined by Title 40 of the US Code) or the Delta region (defined by the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act). The idea is to stop agencies from tripping over each other or duplicating efforts, potentially pooling resources or using agreements with other organizations to maximize their impact. Think of it as forcing different government support programs to actually talk to each other and develop a unified game plan for these specific rural areas.
Accountability Check-In
To ensure this isn't just bureaucratic shuffling, the bill requires a progress report. Within two years, the heads of the SBA, ARC, and DRA must submit a joint report to Congress. This report needs to detail how they've coordinated, identify opportunities to expand help for rural entrepreneurs, state how many businesses they've actually assisted, flag areas for future collaboration, and outline their plans to keep the teamwork going. This reporting requirement acts as a check, pushing for tangible results and transparency on whether the coordinated effort is making a real difference for small businesses on the ground in Appalachia and the Delta.